Female entrepreneur to be charged with 'smurfing' - MACC

KUALA LUMPUR: A female entrepreneur in her 50s will be charged at the Kuala Lumpur courts today 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 source from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the businesswoman is suspected of committing the offence in her attempt at avoiding the transactions from being detected by the bank.

"From January to May 2018, the suspect is believed to have instructed an individual to deposit money into her business account in the amount not exceeding RM50,000 several times on the same day to avoid being detected as a suspicious transaction," said the source, adding over RM230,000 was deposited into the suspect's business account through 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 done by their customers.

In this case, however, the bank did not lodge a Cash Threshold Report (CTR) 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 (AMLATFPUAA) 2001.

-- BERNAMA