Malaysia legislation
Section 38
of ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND ANTI-TERRORISM FINANCING (AMENDMENT) ACT 2014
Section 38
Amendment of section 44
(a)
by substituting for subsection (1) the following subsection:
“(1) Subject to section 50, an enforcement agency may issue an order to freeze any property of any person, or any terrorist property, as the case may be, wherever the property may be, and whether the property is in his possession, under his control or due from any source to him, if—
(a)
an investigation with regard to an unlawful activity has commenced against that person;
and
(b)
either—
(i)
the enforcement agency has reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence under subsection 4(1) or a terrorism financing offence has been or is being or is about to be committed by that person; or
(ii)
the enforcement agency has reasonable grounds to suspect that the property is the proceeds of an unlawful activity or the instrumentalities of an offence.”;
(b)
in subsection (2)—
(i)
by deleting the word “and” at the end of paragraph
(a)
;
(ii)
by substituting for the full stop at the end of paragraph (b) a semicolon; and
(iii)
by inserting after paragraph (b) the following paragraphs:
“(c) where custody and control of the property is taken under paragraph (b), an order to authorise any of its officers to sell any frozen moveable property by a public auction or in such other manner as may be practicable if the enforcement agency is of the opinion that the property is liable to speedy decay or deterioration;
(d)
an order to authorise any of its officers to hold the proceeds of the sale, after deducting therefrom the costs and expenses of the maintenance and sale of the property sold under paragraph (c); and
(e)
an order as to the manner in which the property should be administered or dealt with.”;
(c)
by substituting for subsection (3) the following subsection:
“(3) In making an order under subsection (1), the enforcement agency may give directions to the person named or described in the order relating to the disposal of the property for the purpose of—
(a)
determining any dispute as to the ownership of or other interest in the property or any part of it;
(b)
its’ proper administration during the period of the order;
(c)
the payment of the costs of that person to defend criminal proceedings against him.”;
(d)
in paragraph (4)(c), by substituting for the word “publication”
the word “service”; and
(e)
by inserting after subsection (7) the following subsections:
“(8) The enforcement agency effecting any order to freeze any property under this section shall send a copy of the order and a list of the frozen property to the Public Prosecutor forthwith.
(9)
Where the frozen property is in the possession, custody or control of a financial institution, the enforcement agency shall notify the relevant regulatory or supervisory authority (if any), as the case may be, of such order.
Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism
Financing (Amendment)
(10)
Any person who fails to comply with an order of the enforcement agency issued under subsection
(1)
commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding five times the sum or value of the frozen property at the time the property was frozen or five million ringgit, whichever is the higher, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to both.”.
New section 44a