More than 1,700 financial institutions in Hong Kong have reportedly given local authorities account details.

The jurisdiction has passed data on thousands of individuals amid international efforts to stop tax evasion.

More than 1,700 financial institutions in Hong Kong have reportedly given local authorities account details of customers who are tax residents of 75 jurisdictions around the world, as part of a cross-border fight against tax evasion. 

Hong Kong has agreements with 50 jurisdictions, including mainland China, Canada, Singapore and Japan. It will only send information annually to local tax authorities in those areas, according to the South China Morning Post.

The first exchange is set to take place by the end of this September, and the remaining 25 jurisdictions will receive information once they activate “exchange relationships” with Hong Kong, the SCMP said.

The jurisdiction’s Inland Revenue Department told the publication it had earlier asked 1,800 entities, including banks, insurers and wealth management companies, to hand over. Hong Kong is among 149 jurisdictions that are party to a global tax cooperation initiative known as Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters. Hong Kong is among the second wave of countries that signed up to the Common Reporting Standard, a global regime for exchanging data. The CSR has come in for criticism over potential threats to legitimate financial privacy.