Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities (Amendment) Bill 2024 passed by Senate

28 April 2025

On 18 December 2024, the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities (Amendment) Bill 2024 (“Bill”) was passed by the Senate. The Bill seeks to amend the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (“Act”). The main objectives of the Bill are to:

• strengthen the supervision and enforcement powers under the Act to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing offences; and
• introduce new provisions with respect to restricted activity financing, such as the new offence of restricted activity financing and expanding the scope of the Act to cover the measures to be taken to prevent such an offence and the forfeiture of property involved in or derived from such offence.

Summary of key amendments under the Bill

Powers of authorities under the Act

The Minister of Finance (“Minister”) is empowered, upon the recommendation of the competent authority (i.e. Bank Negara Malaysia) and after consultation with the Minister of Home Affairs, to appoint any person to be a regulatory or supervisory authority with functions as specified by the Minister.

To combat restricted activity financing, the powers of various persons under the Act, such as the Minister, the competent authority, regulatory or supervisory authority, and enforcement agency, were also widened. This includes widening investigative powers related to restricted activity financing, and seizure and forfeiture of property relating to restricted activity financing.

New provisions were introduced which allow the competent authority or the regulatory or supervisory authority, to examine and supervise, through regular examination, institutions to ensure compliance with Part VIA (on suppression of terrorism financing offences) and Part VIB (on suppression of restricted activity financing offences) of the Act, and to require the reporting institution to implement any action plan to ensure compliance with the obligations under Parts VIA and VIB.

Obligations of reporting institutions

Certain reporting obligations previously expressed to apply only to the reporting institutions (for example, relating to customer due diligence, record keeping, implementation of policies and programmes) are now expanded to include the directors, officers or employees of the reporting institutions.

Reporting institutions (as well as their directors, officers and employees) will be required to keep a record of all transactions or activities regardless of amount, whereas previously, records would only have to be kept if the transaction exceeded such amount as the competent authority may specify.

Restrictions on dealings

The restrictions relating to dealings with certain specified entities have been expanded to cover any person within or outside Malaysia, whereas previously, such restrictions only applied to citizens of Malaysia and body corporates incorporated in Malaysia.

Administrative action

The competent authority or the regulatory and supervisory authority now have the power to take administrative action against persons who have committed a breach under the Act or failed to comply with any direction, instruction, guideline etc, such as imposing a monetary penalty, reprimand, and requiring measures to be taken to remedy the breach.

Civil proceedings

The competent authority or the regulatory or supervisory authority can also institute civil proceedings in court in connection with contravention of Parts VIA and VIB of the Act or any directions, guidelines etc issued.

Power of court to make certain orders     

The courts are empowered to make certain orders on the application of the competent authority or the regulatory or supervisory authority where there has been, among other things, a contravention of the Act and there are steps which could be taken to remedy the contravention.

Offences and penalties

The existing penalty of imprisonment and fine for the offence of money laundering under the Act will be made a mandatory punishment.

A new offence of financing of restricted activity (i.e. providing financial services or property to be used for activities involving the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction) and its penalty is introduced.

The competent authority and enforcement agency may compound any offence by accepting up to the amount of the maximum fine provided for the offence. Previously, this was capped at 50% of the amount of the maximum fine for that offence.