A 36-year-old Nepalese man convicted of violating the Banking Ordinance was fined $3,000 at Eastern Magistrates' Courts today.

The court heard that the Monetary Authority referred to Police in November last year a complaint in which a website was found publishing advertisements on unauthorised deposit-taking services.

Investigations found the man, who owned the company which registered the website, enticed an officer posing as customer to set up an online bank account with the company from which the money deposited would be transferred to a bank in Australia with an annual interest rate of 11.07%.

However, no agreement had been made between the bank in Australia and the defendant's company to offer deposit-taking services in Hong Kong.

He was arrested in February and charged with two counts of issuing advertisements relating to deposits contrary to section 92(1) of the ordinance.

He pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance on August 15. He then admitted the offence when he re-appeared on October 20 and was convicted.