July 26, 2022
THE government is committed to developing an effective national anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework.
This is shown through the establishment of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Authority (AML/CFT) in 2018; the adoption of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations; and the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said Malaysia has made significant progress in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
He said Malaysia’s National Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment 2020 (NRA) identified corruption as one of the most prevalent offences that give rise to money laundering, together with smuggling, fraud, illicit drug trafficking, and organised crime.
Corruption was also recognised as an enabler that directly facilitates the commission of other major crimes.
He added that the government has introduced a comprehensive policy on disclosure of conflict-of-interest for government procurement; implemented a corporate liability provision under section 17A of the MACC Act; and established the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC).
The NFCC will coordinate integrated operations among enforcement agencies, maintain a centralised data system and carry out activities relating to the prevention of financial crimes
“To chart the immediate direction of the NFCC, the National Anti-Financial Crime Strategic Plan 2020-2024 was developed with a mission to reduce the threats of high-impact financial crime through a whole-of-government approach.
“Furthermore, the government is actively monitoring illegal activities that have led to revenue leakages such as smuggling. This is spearheaded by a Multi-Agency Task Force, as well as the NFCC through coordination of joint operations across relevant enforcement agencies.
“In particular, there is an ongoing project to recover RM5 billion within five years of the loss of revenue arising from the smuggling of cigarettes and liquor,” he said during his address at the Annual Meeting of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering today.
Tengku Zafrul further noted that Malaysia had improved its percentile ranking over the past 10 years in the voice and accountability, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption dimensions.
Similarly, it ranks higher compared to the average of the East Asia and Pacific region, especially in the government effectiveness and regulatory quality dimensions.
“Our fight against these high-risk crimes will continue to be supported by strong collaboration across enforcement agencies and the financial intelligence community.
“These commitments across the government agencies are bearing fruit. In 2021, the disclosures of suspicious transaction reports have successfully resulted in 70 arrests for various offences; RM136 million of criminal proceeds being frozen or seized; and revenue recovery of more than RM255 million,” he added.
Additionally, the government remains committed to implementing the identified measures under NACP, which aims to maintain accountability and credibility of the judiciary, prosecution, and law enforcement agencies; efficiency and responsiveness in public service delivery; and integrity in business.
“Malaysia has come a long way since the enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA) 21 years ago.
“Over the years, we have enhanced our laws, regulations, supervision, preventive measures, and enforcement to respond to the latest risk environment, as well as to be in line with international standards and best practices.
“Recognising the importance of a whole-of-government approach, we have expanded our National Coordination Committee to Counter Money Laundering (NCC) to 17 agencies and ministries, without which effective AML/CFT efforts in Malaysia will not be possible,” he said.
The NCC has endorsed a roadmap that lays out key strategic focus and national action plans between 2021 and 2023, which will be undertaken by both the public and private sectors.
Recognising the need to combat more sophisticated financial crimes, the roadmap will also push for greater application of data science or technology-based solutions to improve the government’s surveillance and intelligence tools.
Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia is preparing for the next round of the FATF/APG Mutual Evaluation Exercise, which will likely take place in 2024.
“Malaysia accords great importance to the Mutual Evaluation, as we see this as an independent assessment of the effectiveness of our AML/CFT regime while identifying areas for improvement.
“As we are among the first countries to undergo the next cycle of mutual evaluation in the region, we also look forward to sharing our experiences with regional counterparts in preparing for their respective evaluations.
“Against the backdrop of the pandemic, this role is even more vital to foster greater and seamless collaboration to collectively address common threats in the region,” he added.
The APG Annual Meeting this year also marked the conclusion of Malaysia’s tenure as the co-chair.
Despite the limitations due to the pandemic over the last two years, Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia has delivered a set of priorities to support capacity building in data analytics, public-private partnership, and supervision of the designated non-financial businesses and professions.
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Malaysia advances efforts to combat money laundering, terrorism financing