MACAU SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: João Nuno Riquito, Nelson de Azevedo, Belmiro Leong and Kimberley Cheong, Riquito Advogados
MOP100,000, depending on the nature of the violation (Article 37 of Law 15/77/M Business Tax). 5.4 Global Anti-Money Laundering Under the legal framework of Macau, a company’s obligations regarding AML are governed by Law No 2/2006 Prevention and Suppression of the Crime of Money Laundering and its supporting regulations (eg, Administrative Regulation No 7/2006, Instruction No 2/2006, issued by DICJ). • Suspicious transaction reporting: If a company, financial institution, gaming operator or designated non-financial professional identifies any signs that assets may originate from criminal activity, they must submit a suspicious transaction report to the Financial Intelligence Office ( Gabinete de Infor- mação Financeira – GIF). • Beneficiary identification: Companies must iden - tify and verify the identity of their customers and ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs). They must also maintain these records, typically for five years, for inspection by regulatory authorities. • Large cash transaction reporting: Some profres - sionals, such as jewellers and real estate agents, must comply with specific record-keeping and reporting obligations for cash transactions exceed - ing the threshold, which is usually MOP120,000. Beyond the company’s obligations as a legal entity, members of the administrative body, the directors or the company secretary must also fulfil these duties when preparing or executing activities for a client within their scope of businesses. The company’s liability does not exclude the personal liability of indi - viduals. Directors may face both criminal sanctions and administrative fines in relation to personal respon - sibility. 6. Audit, Risk and Internal Controls 6.1 External Auditors In addition to the requirements mentioned in 1.2 Corporate Governance Legislation and Regulation , where a company must appoint an independent audi - tor if it is a requirement to have a supervisory body or if the company is classified as a Group A taxpayer for
complementary tax, it is not normally a requirement to contract an external auditor to audit the company’s financial statements. However, in regulated sectors such as banking, insur - ance and gaming concessions, annual external audits are legally mandatory regardless of the company’s size or capital. 6.2 Risk Management and Internal Controls Under the current legal system in Macau, there is a close relationship between geopolitical risk, national security and the implementation of international sanc - tions. The national security framework in Macau has expanded from traditional military and political securi - ty to non-traditional fields such as economics, culture and finance to address external interference triggered by geopolitical factors. In terms of corporate governance, the board of direc - tors must ensure that the company does not partici - pate in any activities that endanger national secu - rity. According to Law 2/2009 Law on Safeguarding National Security, under Article 16, if a company is suspected of national security crimes, it may face not only fines but, in the most severe cases, compulsory dissolution by court order. Therefore, directors are expected to supervise the implementation of strict compliance procedures and ensure rigorous identi - fication of UBOs to prevent the company from being exploited for money laundering or financing activities that endanger national security. In specific regulated industries like gaming, the direc - tor of the DICJ has officially joined the Committee for Safeguarding National Security, as established by Law 2/2026. This has strengthened national security review and supervision within the gaming industry. Further - more, after hearing the opinion of the Gaming Com - mission, the chief executive may terminate a gaming concession based on threats to the security of China or Macau SAR. Regarding the enforcement of international sanctions, Law No 6/2016 Asset Freezing Regime serves as the foundation for Macau’s implementation of internation - al sanctions, where the government can implement immediate asset freezing of individuals or entities
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