DEWAN RAKYAT PASSES TWO TRUSTEE BILLS TO MEET INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- The Dewan Rakyat today approved the Trustee (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the Trustees (Incorporation) (Amendment) Bill 2024, preparing Malaysia for two international evaluations by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) next year.

Both bills were passed with a majority voice vote following their third reading by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran.

When tabling the Trustee (Amendment) Bill 2024 for its second reading, Kulasegaran said that failing to comply with FATF standards could, in the long term, undermine Malaysia's economic stability due to international economic and financial pressures.

He explained that the amendments to the Trustee Act 1949 (Act 208) aim to strengthen regulatory powers and establish mechanisms to obtain information on money laundering and terrorism financing through trustees as a preventive measure.

Kulasegaran said a new Section 44D proposed under the amendment provides for obligations to maintain records and documents related to beneficial ownership by trustees.

As for the Trustees (Incorporation) (Amendment) Bill 2024, Kulasegaran noted an amendment to Section 6 of the Trustees (Incorporation) Act 1952 (Act 258), enabling the minister to inspect or authorise others to inspect trustees and take necessary actions following such inspections.

“The minister may suspend trustees found to have misused assets and refer the matter to relevant enforcement agencies for investigation,” he said.

Kulasegaran added that the introduction of a new Section 2B ensures the maintenance of records on beneficial ownership and facilitates information disclosure to authorities when required. Currently, there is no provision mandating such record-keeping.

“This measure is crucial to ensure funds are directed to rightful beneficiaries, thus preventing the diversion of funds to activities involving terrorist groups, organised crime and money laundering,” he said. 

-- BERNAMA