KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — The Bill for the establishment of the National Financial Crime Centre (NFCC) is expected to be tabled in Parliament in June this year.
National Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC) director-general Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed told Utusan Malaysia that the establishment of the NFCC was the government’s continued effort to combat financial crimes comprehensively.
The NFCC is one of the initiatives under the National Anti-Corruption Plan 2019-2023 (NACP) expected to be launched by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad this January 29.
“Presently the NFCC will comprise about 20 agencies including the Royal Malaysian Customs, Immigration Department, Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Companies Commission of Malaysia, Inland Revenue Board and Royal Malaysian of Police,” Abu Kassim was quoted saying.
The former MACC chief said enforcement agencies constantly faced difficulties in handling criminal cases such as cigarettes and contraband smuggling under the jurisdiction of the Customs Department.
“For example, every year our country records RM8 billion loss due to cigarette and liquor smuggling. For Customs Department, it is only smuggling. But, to smuggle something, the smuggler would have committed bribery, used his mafia gangs, evaded tax, did some company layering and some suspicious bank transactions.
“When we sit with all agencies and bring all this elements together, then we see the real picture of the criminal activities,” he said.
As part of the Bill-drafting process, Abu Kassim said his team would go to Australia and United Kingdom to learn from them on how to draft the law and study their operational model.
“When I went to Washington after the 9/11 incident, the Americans realised that their agencies were working in silos and they established the Washington Target Centre comprising 26 agencies. With everyone sharing information and anticipating potential threats, investigation was more effective,” he said.
The NFCC will act as a task force whereby all relevant agencies will work from one place and look at the same target criminal activities.
It is being led by former Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali.
