KUALA LUMPUR – A female entrepreneur in her 50s will be charged at the Kuala Lumpur courts tomorrow for being involved in “smurfing” amounting to more than RM230,000, believed to be the first such case in the country.
Smurfing is a money-laundering technique involving the structuring of large amounts of cash into multiple small transactions.
According to a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission source, the businesswoman is suspected of committing the offence in an attempt to avoid a bank from detecting the transactions.
“From January to May 2018, the suspect is believed to have instructed an individual to deposit money into her business account in amounts not exceeding RM50,000 several times on the same day to avoid being detected as suspicious transactions.”
The source said more than RM230,000 was deposited into the suspect’s business account via several transactions.
Banks are obliged to report to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) if they detect deposit or withdrawal transactions amounting to more than RM50,000 per day.
In this case, however, the bank did not lodge a cash threshold report to BNM because multiple transactions within the same day are allowed.
The source said smurfing is an offence and can be charged under Section 4A(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. – Bernama, June 28, 2021
