Malaysia says US$2.4 million fraud involving civil servants uncovered at government office in London

ACCOUNTING FRAUD TASK FORCE LAUNCHED TO STRENGTHEN FUND RECOVERY EFFORTS

The Accounting Fraud Task Force launched on Monday, according to Malay Mail, will serve as a cross-agency platform for strategic collaboration to comprehensively address accounting fraud. 

Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Accountant General’s Department and the Inland Revenue Board are among the agencies forming the task force, local media reported. 

At the event, MACC chief Azam Baki described the launch of the Accounting Fraud Task Force on Monday as a strategic move to strengthen the country’s efforts in recovering funds and assets linked to corruption and misappropriation, especially those hidden overseas. 

He said that the MACC, which is the lead agency of the task force, will ensure that detection, analysis and enforcement actions are carried out in a more efficient, coordinated and impactful manner. 

“Dealing with cases involving the loss of national funds through complex syndicates that involve multiple parties is not an easy task. However, (through the task force), we can plug further leakages and recover stolen assets,” MACC’s Azam was quoted as saying by Malay Mail. 

“On the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case, it became clear that there is still much to be done, it’s a challenging process that requires specialised expertise,” he added, describing the scandal as one of the most complex cases as many of the assets involved are located overseas. 

The task force’s expertise will thus be “vital in tracing assets via international collaboration,” Azam said. 

He also added that positive outcomes can be expected within the next six months from the task force, which will focus on asset recovery. 

Detailing on the economic impact of corruption in Malaysia, the anti-graft chief said that Malaysia had lost an estimated RM277 billion to corruption between 2018 and 2023, which is around RM55 billion annually based on GDP estimates. 

“(These figures) clearly show how corruption and related offences, such as document forgery, manipulation of financial statements and misappropriation of company funds, have undermined government policies, processes and service delivery as well as operations in the private sector,” Azam was quoted as saying by Malay Mail. 

“This erodes public and investor confidence and hampers national progress.”