{"id":29142,"date":"2024-04-12T13:20:07","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T13:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prelive-tdw.visibleone.app\/insight-and-news\/the-court-of-final-appeal-upholds-the-lawfulness-of-the-letter-of-no-consent-regime\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T01:39:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T01:39:36","slug":"the-court-of-final-appeal-upholds-the-lawfulness-of-the-letter-of-no-consent-regime","status":"publish","type":"insight-and-news","link":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/insight-and-news\/the-court-of-final-appeal-upholds-the-lawfulness-of-the-letter-of-no-consent-regime\/","title":{"rendered":"The Court of Final Appeal upholds the lawfulness of the \u201cLetter of No Consent\u201d Regime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n    \n\n<div style=\"background-image:url('https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/wp-content\/themes\/tanner-de-witt\/images\/insightdetails.jpeg')\"\n    class=\"insight-news-detail-hero\" id=\"insight-news-detail-hero\">\n\n\t\t<div style=\"background-color:\" class=\"insight-news-detail-hero-overlay \"><\/div>\n            <div class=\"z-[0]\">\n                <div class=\"insight-news-breadcrumbs flex items-end practice-areas-featured-breadcrumbs \">\n                    <a class=\"page-link no-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/\">Home<\/a>                <\/div>\n\n\n                <div class=\"hero-title\">\n                    <h1>\n                        The Court of Final Appeal upholds the lawfulness of the \u201cLetter of No Consent\u201d Regime                    <\/h1>\n                <\/div>\n                \n                    <div style=\"\" class=\"hero-date \">\n\n                        <span class=\"month\">Apr<\/span>\n                        <span class=\"day\">12<\/span>\n                        <span class=\"year\">2024<\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n    \n\n    \n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<script >\n    (function () {\n        document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", () => {\n\n            const breadCrumbsContainer = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\".practice-areas-featured-breadcrumbs\"));\n\n            breadCrumbsContainer.forEach(container => {\n                const breadCrumbLinks = Array.from(container.querySelectorAll('.page-link'));\n                const breadCrumbSeperators = Array.from(container.querySelectorAll('.separator'));\n\n                if (Array.from(breadCrumbLinks).length === 1) {\n                    const homeNode = breadCrumbLinks[0];\n\n                    if (!homeNode) {\n                        return\n                    }\n\n                    const postTypeNode = homeNode.cloneNode(true);\n                    postTypeNode.textContent = \"Insights and News\";\n                    container.insertAdjacentHTML('beforeend', `<span class=\"separator practice-areas-featured-breadcrumb-item-slash\">\/<\/span>`)\n                    container.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', postTypeNode)\n                    breadCrumbLinks.push(postTypeNode);\n\n                    if (\"Insights\") {\n                        const categoryNode = homeNode.cloneNode(true);\n\n                        categoryNode.textContent = \"Insights\";\n                        container.insertAdjacentHTML('beforeend', `<span class=\"separator practice-areas-featured-breadcrumb-item-slash\">\/<\/span>`)\n                        container.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', categoryNode)\n                        breadCrumbLinks.push(categoryNode);\n                    }\n\n\n                    const titleNode = homeNode.cloneNode(true);\n\n                    titleNode.textContent = \"The Court of Final Appeal upholds the lawfulness of the \u201cLetter of No Consent\u201d Regime\";\n                    container.insertAdjacentHTML('beforeend', `<span class=\"separator practice-areas-featured-breadcrumb-item-slash\">\/<\/span>`)\n                    container.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', titleNode)\n                    breadCrumbLinks.push(titleNode);\n\n\n\n\n                }\n\n                breadCrumbLinks.forEach((link, index) => {\n\n                    link.classList.add('practice-areas-featured-breadcrumb-item-name');\n                    const origin = window.location.origin;\n                    const href = window.location.href;\n\n                    const originSplitter = window.location.href.includes(\"insight-and-news\") ? \"insight-and-news\" : window.location.href.includes('insights-and-news') ? \"insights-and-news\" : \"\"\n\n                    const paths = href.split(originSplitter);\n                    const links = paths[1].split(\"\/\").filter(Boolean)\n\n\n                    const resolvedOrigin = originSplitter ? (href.split(originSplitter)[0] || \"\") : (origin + \"\/\")\n\n                    if (index === 0) {\n\n                        if (!originSplitter) {\n                            link.href = origin\n                        } else {\n                            link.href = resolvedOrigin;\n                        }\n\n\n                    } else if (index === 1) {\n                        link.href = resolvedOrigin + originSplitter\n\n                    }\n                    else if (index === 2) {\n                        console.log(links)\n                        link.href = resolvedOrigin + originSplitter + \"\/\" + (links[0] || \"\")\n                    }\n                    else if (index === 3) {\n\n                        link.href = resolvedOrigin + originSplitter + \"\/\" + (links[0] || \"\") + \"\/\" + (links[1] || \"\")\n\n                    }\n\n\n\n                    \/\/ const words = link.textContent.split(\" \")\n                    \/\/ if (words.length > 4) {\n                    \/\/     link.textContent = words.slice(0, 4).join(\" \") + \"...\"\n                    \/\/ }\n\n                })\n\n                breadCrumbSeperators.forEach(separator => {\n                    separator.textContent = \"\/\"\n                    separator.classList.add('practice-areas-featured-breadcrumb-item-slash')\n                });\n\n\n            })\n\n\n        })\n        removeDivTag()\n    })();\n\n    function removeDivTag() {\n        console.log(\"remasfljas\");\n        const editorContainer = document.querySelector(\".editor-wysiwyg\");\n        \/\/ editorContainer.innerText = editorContainer.innerText.replace(\"<\/div>\", \"\")\n        Array.from(editorContainer.childNodes).forEach(el => {\n            if (el.textContent.includes(\"<\/div>\")) {\n                el.textContent = \"\"\n            }\n        })\n    }\n<\/script>\n\n<div class=\"editor-wysiwyg my-[40px]\">\n<div class=\"single-section\">\n<div class=\"single-section\">\n<p>On 10 April 2024, The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (\u201c<strong>CFA<\/strong>\u201d), Hong Kong\u2019s highest court, delivered its ruling in <em>Tam Sze Leung &amp; Ors v Commissioner of Police<\/em> [2024] HKCFA 8, affirming the validity of the Hong Kong Police\u2019s Letter of No Consent (<strong>\u201cLNC\u201d<\/strong>) regime.\u00a0 This decision provides significant relief to victims of fraud and also brings clarity to the Police and practitioners involved in asset tracing and recovery.<\/p>\n<p>In our previous article we reviewed the scope and nature of the LNC regime and discussed the Court of Appeal\u2019s ruling overturning the Court of First Instance\u2019s decision which had held that such regime was unlawful and unconstitutional.\u00a0 For details, please click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/insight-and-news\/a-relief-to-victims-of-fraud-hong-kong-court-of-appeal-restores-the-letter-of-no-consent-regime\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Background<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In\u00a0<em>Tam Sze Leung,\u00a0<\/em>the appellants were family members and maintained several bank accounts with banks in Hong Kong. They were suspected by the Securities and Futures Commission of having committed stock market manipulation through illegal \u201cpump and dump\u201d activities and arranging for other persons to provide false stock trading tips or insider information to the public, thereby earning a profit at the expense of investors who had been misled by their false information.\u00a0 In assisting the SFC\u2019s investigation, the Hong Kong Police issued LNCs to banks where the appellants held accounts to preserve funds pending further investigation. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The appellants applied for leave to seek judicial review to challenge the Police\u2019s decision to issue and maintain the LNCs, and to fail or refuse to consent to the withdrawal of any funds from their accounts. The application was heard by Coleman J who upheld aspects of the appellants\u2019 challenge on constitutional grounds and on the basis the regime was ultra vires.\u00a0 However, by a decision dated 14 April 2023, the Court of Appeal allowed the Police\u2019s appeal, upholding the validity of the LNC regime.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Court of Final Appeal\u2019s decision<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The appellants were granted leave to appeal to the CFA on the basis the issues at stake were of general public importance.\u00a0 The CFA was invited to consider four issues:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q1 \u2013 <\/strong>Whether the LNC regime is ultra vires and\/or whether the LNCs in question were issued for an improper purpose.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2 \u2013 <\/strong>Whether the LNC regime fulfils the requirement of being prescribed by law and whether it imposes proportionate restrictions on fundamental rights under the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3 \u2013<\/strong> Whether the operation of the LNC regime is procedurally unfair.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4 \u2013<\/strong> Whether the case of <em>Interush Ltd v Commissioner of Police<\/em> was correct in holding that the LNC regime is a necessary and proportionate restriction on the right of enjoyment of private property under the Basic Law.<\/p>\n<p>The CFA answered these questions as follows: Q1: No. Q2: Yes. Q3: No. Q4: <em>Interush <\/em>adopted an analysis which the Court of Final Appeal does not fully support.\u00a0 However, <em>Interush<\/em> arrived at the correct result.<\/p>\n<p>Below is a summary of the Court\u2019s reasoning.<\/p>\n<p><em><u>The LNC regime is not ultra vires and is for proper purpose<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The CFA clarified that authorisation for the LNC regime stems from Section 10 of the Police Force Ordinance (PFO) which empowered the Police to take lawful measures to prevent dissipation of suspected proceeds of crime.\u00a0 The appellants\u2019 argument was therefore flawed as it wrongly premised Section 25A(2) of the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO) as the basis for assessing whether the LNC regime is ultra vires.<\/p>\n<p>The CFA also confirmed the Court of Appeal\u2019s ruling that the LNC regime does not involve the Police freezing or ordering the banks to freeze the accounts.\u00a0 It is the banks\u2019 decision \u2013 driven by its own wish to meet its anti-money laundering obligations and to avoid criminal, regulatory and reputational sanctions \u2013 to disable and freeze its customer\u2019s account.<\/p>\n<p>On this analysis and given that the LNC regime only serves as a temporary and provisional measureto secure property believed to be the proceeds of crime, the LNC regime is <em>not<\/em> ultra vires and is <em>not<\/em> a misuse of (and instead is consistent with) the powers conferred by the PFO.<\/p>\n<p><em><u>The LNC regime does not infringe any fundamental rights<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The CFA also rejected the appellants\u2019 constitutional challenge that the operation of the LNC regime has infringed their fundamental rights to property on the basis that no such rights are engaged \u2013 the Police do <em>not<\/em> by their acts (in operating the LNC regime) freeze or make a \u201c<em>crucial contribution<\/em>\u201d to the bank\u2019s decision to freeze or continue freezing the funds in the relevant accounts.<\/p>\n<p>The CFA went further to say that even if the Police action did have the effect of \u201cfreezing\u201d the accounts, such actions are prescribed by law as they are clearly governed by accessible provisions (the PFO).\u00a0 The LNC regime is also <em>\u201cundoubtedly\u201d<\/em> rationally connected with the achievement of the legitimate aim at both domestic and international levels \u2013 to secure suspect assets pending investigation and to comply with Hong Kong\u2019s international obligations to put in place an effective anti-money laundering scheme.\u00a0 Given its limited nature and finite duration, the LNC regime is therefore a proportionate measure which reflects a <em>\u201creasonable balance between the anti-money laundering aims of society and the protection of individual property rights\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em><u>No procedural unfairness<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The CFA also rejected the appellants\u2019 complaint that the LNC regime lacks procedural fairness. \u00a0In light of the clear statutory purpose of OSCO to avoid prejudicing investigations, the Police are fully entitled to maintain confidentiality of their investigations. \u00a0The Court said that it would be a defiance of common sense to suggest that Police investigation of suspected money laundering should be treated as if the Police were conducting a \u201csuit at law\u201d (the phrase employed in the Bill of Rights) involving a public hearing in some adjudicative forum, giving the suspects notice, reasons and an opportunity to make representations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the CFA determined that the appellants were not in fact deprived of their rights to make representations \u2013 they had been repeatedly requested to assist in the investigations and given the opportunity to dispel the suspicion.\u00a0 It has also been open to the appellants throughout to seek relief against the banks in court for withholding their funds and to resort to the courts by bringing judicial review proceedings against the Police.<\/p>\n<p><em><u>Not necessary to assess the correctness of Interush<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The CFA considered that the correctness or otherwise of the <em>Interush<\/em> decision was not relevant to the appellants\u2019 appeal as the appellants\u2019 challenges are only confined to the validity of the LNC regime, not to the constitutionality of certain provisions of OSCO.\u00a0 The CFA did not see it necessary to proceed with the proportionality assessment conducted in <em>Interush<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key takeaways<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The CFA decision not only affirms the operational framework of the LNC regime, it also underscores the crucial role of such regime in combating fraud and money laundering, and maintaining Hong Kong\u2019s reputation as a global financial centre.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The upholding of the lawfulness of the LNC regime is undoubtedly welcomed by victims of fraud.\u00a0 In the modern world where funds can be dissipated so quickly, the LNC regime, which has the practical effect of causing banks to immediately freeze the relevant bank account, will remain a vital instrument for practitioners and fraud victims alike to preserve funds pending the victim\u2019s application for a civil injunction and pursuing tracing and recovery relief in the Hong Kong Courts.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>How we can help\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Our fraud and assets tracing team regularly represents clients in complex, high-value, and multi-jurisdictional fraud cases, including through applications to the Hong Kong Court for urgent disclosure and injunction orders.\u00a0 We maintain close relationships with a network of leading practitioners in many other jurisdictions to support our domestic and international asset tracing and recovery practice. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Any victim of fraud seeking relief, or a bank account holder adversely affected or with concerns that they might be adversely affected by a Letter of No Consent, should contact our partners <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/our-people\/troy-greig\/\">Troy Greig<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/our-people\/jeff-lane\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jeff Lane<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/our-people\/pamela-mak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pamela Mak<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">Robin Darton, Jeff Lane and<\/strong><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\"> Adam Hoi<\/i><\/p>\n<p>If you would like to discuss any of the matters raised in this article, please contact:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/our-people\/troy-greig\/\">Troy Greig<\/a><br \/>Partner |\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:troygreig@tannerdewitt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">troygreig@tannerdewitt.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/our-people\/jeff-lane\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jeff Lane<\/a><br \/>Partner |\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:JeffLane@tannerdewitt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JeffLane@tannerdewitt.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/our-people\/pamela-mak\/\">Pamela Mak<\/a><br \/>Partner |\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:pamelamak@tannerdewitt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pamelamak@tannerdewitt.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Disclaimer: This publication is general in nature and is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should seek professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters dealt with in this publication.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 10 April 2024, The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (\u201cCFA\u201d), Hong Kong\u2019s highest court, delivered its ruling in Tam Sze Leung &amp; Ors v Commissioner of Police [2024] HKCFA 8, affirming the validity of the Hong Kong Police\u2019s Letter of No Consent (\u201cLNC\u201d) regime.\u00a0 This decision provides significant relief to victims of fraud [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"insight-category":[1121],"insight-month":[1155],"insight-practice-area":[1134],"insight-year":[1159],"class_list":["post-29142","insight-and-news","type-insight-and-news","status-publish","hentry","insight-category-legal-updates-and-insights","insight-month-april","insight-practice-area-fraud-and-asset-recovery","insight-year-1159"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight-and-news\/29142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight-and-news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/insight-and-news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight-and-news\/29142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31910,"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight-and-news\/29142\/revisions\/31910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29142"},{"taxonomy":"insight-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight-category?post=29142"},{"taxonomy":"insight-month","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight-month?post=29142"},{"taxonomy":"insight-practice-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight-practice-area?post=29142"},{"taxonomy":"insight-year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tannerdewitt.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight-year?post=29142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}