Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 -- Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is in the midst of reviewing its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) policies to make the regulatory framework more risk and principles-based, said Governor, Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus.

She believes the industry is ready to build and expand capacity in this area, but, there is still a lot more to be done, including educating everyone in the industry that “risk-based� does not mean “total risk aversion�.

“While it is crucial to protect our financial system from being abused, it is also necessary for financial institutions to serve their role in the economy and for society. 

“Accordingly, the new regulatory framework demands reporting institutions to take greater ownership of their individual AML/CFT frameworks,� she said at the Financial Crime and Terrorism Financing Conference,  launched by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad here today. 

Also present was Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner, Latheefa Koya.

Nor Shamsiah also urged reporting institutions to accelerate efforts to further expand and develop their AML/CFT policies.

She said since the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001 was gazetted, reporting institutions had matured in understanding and fully implemented the regulatory requirements.

“This was also supplemented by the issuance of various guidance, technical notes and updates on regulation.

“Reporting institutions must strengthen their internal governance and controls to preserve financial integrity, not because Bank Negara tells them so, but because it is the right thing to do.This demands a high level of maturity by the industry,� she added.

According to Nor Shamsiah, for individual institutions, which had established a mature control environment, there would be greater latitude to design control frameworks in a way that is more operationally flexible.

On the other hand, for individual institutions who are not quite there yet, the new framework raises the compliance bar, calling for them to strengthen awareness, governance and processes to ensure they have the capabilities to preserve integrity of the financial system, she said.

-- BERNAMA