KUALA LUMPUR: Despite enforcement and surveillance, Bank Negara Malaysia continues to receive a high volume of tip-offs from the public on Hawala or illegal remittance activities, says Lim Hui Ying.
She said the measures to curb Hawala activities are necessary to ensure that they will not affect the country’s rating, as Malaysia will undergo the Mutual Evaluation assessment by the Financial Action Taskforce in 2025.“Although enforcement efforts are continuously being made, BNM still faces challenges regarding the legal process under the existing legal framework.
“This is because almost half or 45% of unlicensed money services are imposed a fine of RM50,000 or less. At the same time, the prison term for offenders is only between one to three days,” she said.