Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act will be amended, says BNM

by **Cals** Thu 24 Oct 2013, 00:41

Business & Markets 2013

Written by Bernama

Wednesday, 23 October 2013 18:36

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 23): Bank Negara Malaysia will amend the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act, to further strengthen the financial system.

Its Assistant Governor, Abu Hassan Alshari Yahaya, said amid the developing global trend, jurisdiction, resilience and capabilities needed to be continuously strengthened.

"We are hoping to go to parliament sometime this year, to get this particular amendment approved," he told reporters at the Fifth International Conference on Financial Crime and Terrorism Financing 2013, themed 'Risk, Governance & Self-Regulation: Within and Beyond', here today.

Abu Hassan hoped that the amendment could be approved soon, so that it could be implemented early next year, as it was very important in efforts to reduce the overall crime nationwide.

Ealier, in his keynote speech, Abu Hassan said the Malaysia's anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime would be undergoing the third mutual evaluation exercise, commencing August next year.

He said the assessment methodology this time around, would be different from the previous two assessments.

"It will not only depend on how good we are in achieving technical compliance to the international standards, by having the necessary laws, regulations and policies in place, but importantly, the focus of the assessment will be placed on the effectiveness of AML/CFT measures being implemented, taking into consideration the risk and context of money-laundering and terrorism financing risks in Malaysia," he said.

Abu Hassan said an overall positive rating in the assessment would strengthen the confidence in the country's financial system, and therefore, the country's economic development.

"Our success in meeting the shared goal of protecting the integrity of our financial system against criminal abuse, will continue to depend on the cooperation among the regulators, the financial industry and the law enforcement authorities," he said.