KUALA LUMPUR (March 20): The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) stepped up investigations and enforcement efforts with an increase in active cases while initiating more criminal actions in 2024.

The number of active investigations rose to 62 at the end of 2024 from 55 in 2023 and 49 in 2022, according to its latest annual report. More than one-third of the probes were over corporate misconducts followed by insider trading, manipulation, unlicensed activities and securities fraud.

“The SC, in line with its mandate to protect investors, continued to allocate significant resources in 2024 to investigate cases involving securities fraud, corporate misconduct, unlicensed activities, and disclosure violations, which made up two-thirds of its investigation efforts,” the SC said.

The focus on those breaches, also categorised as fraud crimes at the national level, was due to them being some of the most prevalent and high-risk crimes in Malaysia, the SC noted.

The SC also highlighted its shift in investigative approaches, relying more on digital evidence on top of traditional documents amid modernisation of the corporate workplace that resulted in skyrocketing volume of electronic data.

“Investigating officers now prioritise the analysis of emails, instant messages, and digital transactions stored in cloud-based systems as primary sources of evidence,” the SC said.

The SC opened 16 new cases and conducted raids on 14 locations in 2024.

Investigators also recorded statements from 373 individuals last year. More than half were from investors, account holders, investment bankers, auditors and lawyers, as well as employees, directors and senior management of public-listed companies.

“This reflects the SC’s active investigations targeting securities fraud and corporate misconduct offences,” the regulator noted.

The SC closed the year with criminal actions involving 53 charges against 16 persons and entities, compared to actions against just two persons for 12 charges in 2023.

Beyond criminal enforcement, the SC initiated 12 civil actions, including the issuance of letters of demand, and exercised its statutory powers to take administrative action against 34 individuals.

In terms of financial recoveries, the SC secured a total of RM12.04 million in disgorgements, which are repayments of ill-gotten gains obtained through unlawful or unethical means, and RM9.87 million in civil penalties last year.

A total of 168 investors received restitution amounting to RM1.86 million in 2024, with a further RM8.78 million earmarked for restitution involving 1,068 investors.

For more SC 2024 Annual Report stories, click here.