By Tim Leonard
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 29, 2009): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is giving more bite to its Anti-Money Laundering division to strengthen its investigation procedures and processes.
theSun learnt that the MACC is increasing its expertise in this specialised field, especially to beef up investigations and enhance its technical processes, especially for cases involving intricate financial details and trails.
A senior management official of the MACC said the division would be given more bite with increased powers to carry out investigations and be on par with international anti-graft bodies.
The MACC is also in the process of hiring more officers to strengthen the division.
"The division will liaise directly with statutory bodies such as Securities Commission, Bank Negara, Companies Commission of Malaysia and commercial banks, and will operate with greater level of powers," said the official.
He said while the division would work within the general scope of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001, it will also work with a broader scope to curb corruption and nabbing those involved in corruption by using the financial systems.
"The division will also work closely with those involved in the banking and financial sectors, including company secretaries, lawyers, remisiers, stock broking firms, fund managers and even bank clerks," he added.
The official said many cases today were no longer straight-forward corruption cases but those involving the use of sophisticated methods that were usually carried out by those with good knowledge of the financial systems.
He cited a case where the suspect was investigated for receiving kickbacks but no traces of money were found in his account. However, subsequent probes by the division found financial trails that ended in a company belonging to the relative of the suspect.
The money received as "kickbacks" was camouflaged under different receivables and "parked" in the relative's company. The money was planned to be channeled to the suspect under different guises.
The official said MACC lost many cases, some were even thrown out before the accused's defence was called, because many a witness turned "hostile" and brought down the prosecution's efforts.
"The MACC wants to rely more on technical aspects and equip itself with the highest technical skills to be able to successfully prosecute a case," said the official.
MACC deputy commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamed was quoted recently as saying MACC lost cases because of problems with witnesses.
Out of 107 cases the MACC prosecuted as of Sept 30, it only won 82 and lost 25 cases or 23%.
Out of the 25 cases, 21 cases saw those accused being released without having their defense called.
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