KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday said the government will establish a special committee chaired by the attorney general to investigate corporate crime.
The committee, comprising the Royal Malaysian Police, Securities Commission Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia and other relevant agencies, will be given three months to complete its investigation and submit a comprehensive report, he told the Dewan Rakyat during the prime minister's question time.
However, he did not specify which corporate crime cases the committee would investigate.
Anwar was responding to Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun (Pakatan Harapan-Port Dickson), who asked for an update on allegations of “corporate mafia” activities, including breaches of the law and enforcement action taken to date.
The ‘corporate mafia’ allegations came into the spotlight in a Bloomberg article Who’s Watching Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Watchdog? and centre around takeover of companies listed on Bursa Malaysia in collusion with officials from Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
MACC and the then chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki have denied the allegations.
On Tuesday, Anwar said the government would not tolerate abuse of power or breaches of the law in business and corporate activities, adding that enforcement agencies had continued investigating cases involving alleged corporate misconduct.
Corporate crime encompasses offences under various laws, including the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, Moneylenders Act 1951 and Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, he said.
Such offences include the takeover of Bursa Malaysia-listed and private companies, stock market manipulation, breaches of corporate disclosure and regulatory requirements, illegal moneylending and intimidation of borrowers.
Anwar also highlighted Operation Viking, a police investigation into suspected money laundering activities, which have resulted in 70 individuals being called to have their statements recorded as of Sept 25, 2026.
The operation also involved the freezing or seizure of eight properties, 11 vehicles, 417 Central Depository System accounts, 70 share-trading accounts worth about RM323.59 million and 404 bank accounts containing about RM85.62 million.
Anti-money laundering enforcement efforts this year have also resulted in RM4.3 billion and 2.1 million shares being frozen, RM1 billion and 2.1 million shares being seized, RM48 million being forfeited and RM1.1 billion in compounds being imposed.
There are also ongoing court proceedings for forfeiture of more than RM3 billion.
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