AMLA Article

Every industry has them. The “consultant” who says he knows the right people at the ministry. The agent who promises to deliver the tender for a 10 per cent success fee. The distributor overseas who “handles the local authorities” so that you do not have to. The middleman who wants his fee paid to a company in another country.
Many Malaysian businesses still think that if a third party pays a bribe, it is the third party’s problem. That has not been true since 1 June 2020. Under section 17A of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 (MACC Act), a company can be prosecuted when a person who performs services for it pays a bribe to win or keep business for the company. Its directors and senior managers can be treated as personally guilty too.

The deal looks good. The target company has steady revenue, valuable licences, a few Government contracts and a property portfolio, and the seller is willing to let it go at an attractive price. The financial and tax due diligence come back clean. You sign, pay and take over.
Six months later, MACC officers arrive at the office. A contract the company won three years ago is under investigation. The company’s bank accounts are frozen under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA). A piece of land you thought you had bought turns out to have been seized before the sale.

Your finance manager spots something odd. A supplier’s invoices have crept up by 30% over the past year, the same procurement executive approves every one of them, and that executive has just bought a new car. The managing director’s first reaction is to call the executive into the boardroom tomorrow morning and demand an explanation.