Money laundering and terrorism financing (ML/TF) continues to be an on-going threat which has the potential to adversely affect the country’s reputation and investment climate, which may lead to economic and social consequences. The globalisation of the financial services industry and advancement in technology has posed challenges to regulators and law enforcement agencies as criminals have become more sophisticated in utilising reporting institutions to launder illicit funds and use them as conduits for ML/TF activities. The AML/CFT legislation is regulated by the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and has been introduced to align Malaysia with international standards on the prevention, detection and reporting of ML/TF activities.

Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad (the Corporation) is committed to the highest standards of AML/CFT compliance. It is the policy of the Corporation to prohibit and actively prevent money laundering and any activity that facilitates money laundering or the funding of terrorist or criminal activities by complying with all applicable requirements under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism of Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA) and AML/CFT – Banking and Deposit-Taking Institutions (Sector 1) Guidelines issued by BNM.

ML/TF risk may lead the Corporation to have impact on reputation risk, therefore, the internal AML/CFT Policy, was established. It is considered as duties and responsibilities of all members of the Corporations’ Board of Directors, Senior Management and all employees to strictly follow this policy. The AML/CFT Policy sets out the ground rules towards building a stronger and robust AML/CFT Programs within the Corporation. The purpose of this Policy is to address the requirements that must be complied with under the AMLATFPUAA to effectively combat money laundering and financing of terrorism activities.

Other key measures undertaken includes having in place the following:

  • The appointment of a Designated Compliance Officer (DCO) of sufficient seniority who has the responsibility for oversight of internal compliance programmes, proper maintenance of records and reporting of suspicious transactions;
  • Establishing and maintaining risk-based customer due diligence, identification, verification and know your customer procedures, including enhanced due diligence for those customers presenting higher risk including Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs);
  • Filtering and detection system to scrutinise customers’ transactions for reporting of suspicious activities to the Financial Intelligence and Enforcement Department (FIED), BNM on timely basis;
  • Screening of individuals and entities against sanction programs such as sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and as guided by regulator to ensure that the Corporation does not deal with any sanctioned individuals/entities;
  • Provision of full and timely disclosure of suspicious transactions/circumstances to the relevant authorities as provided under all applicable laws/respective jurisdictions;
  • Record keeping of all identification/transaction details obtained for the purpose of customer identification as well as of all documents in accordance with statutory requirements as stipulated in the Act;
  • Regular communication, supplemented with latest updates on AML/CFT and training programs undertaken to raise staff awareness at all levels within the Corporation; and
  • Provision of appropriate management information and reporting to Senior Management and the Board of Directors of the Corporation’s compliance with the requirements.