Offshore Financial Investigation Training in Malaysia

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Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), 10 February 2023 - In the wake of headline-grabbing offshore financial crime scandals such as The Panama Papers, UNODC has placed increasing emphasis on assisting national anti-corruption counterparts in preventing and combating offshore financial crimes. With this goal in mind, UNODC partnered with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to hold a financial investigation training workshop for cases involving assets, entities, and transactions in offshore financial centres for law enforcement agencies at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy (MACA) in Kuala Lumpur from 6-10 February, 2023.

The objective of the training was to strengthen the knowledge of anti-corruption practitioners and stakeholders in Malaysia to detect, investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate corruption cases. Specifically, the workshop aimed to develop the skills and knowledge of investigators regarding the operation of offshore financial centres and how corrupt individuals can exploit legal persons and structures, provide a platform to help advance prosecution-led investigations (particularly those related to financial crime), and provide advanced training on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) that involves strategy, approach, and practical steps in AML investigations.

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To this end, the workshop was facilitated by senior law enforcement advisor & UNODC financial crime specialist, Mr. Simon Baker, who covered topics such as:

  • Introduction to offshore financial centres
  • Legal structures (i.e., Shell companies, investment funds & trusts)
  • Case studies
  • Letters of Request
  • Crypto currencies

A total of 40 participants attended the training, including officers from multiple divisions of the MACC, such as: Intelligence and Financial Analysis, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), as well as the Commercial Crime Investigation Department of the Royal Malaysian Police, the Securities Commission Malaysia, the Central Bank of Malaysia, and the Companies Commission Malaysia.

The course comprised of a blended learning approach, involving lectures, discussions, presentations, usage of online tools, case studies and quizzes. The Academy organized a closing ceremony with the presentation of Certificates of Completion to the trainees which were presented by Tan Sri Dato Sri Azam Baki, Chief Commissioner of the MACC.

This training was part of activities funded by the Ministry of Justice of Government of the Republic of Korea.

Other Useful Links:

  • A description of another Offshore Financial Crimes Investigation training conducted in the Philippines in November 2022 can be found here.
  • A summary of activities by the UNODC Anti-Corruption Team in Southeast Asia is publicly available via our website here.