Bank Negara Probes Fund For Suspected Illegal Activities

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) -- Bank Negara Malaysia is investigating AB Fund for suspected illegal deposit taking and money laundering activities.The activities are offences under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 and Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 respectively, the central bank said.Bank Negara, in a joint operation with the Securities Commission (SC) and the police yesterday, conducted a raid on AB Fund for suspected illegal activities via its websites, www.abfund.us and www.abfundtrader.biz."AB Fund is not licensed by the SC to provide investment advice that is related to securities or futures activities," Bank Negara and the SC said in a joint statement today.They said AB Fund was also not licensed to carry out fund management activities, as stipulated under the Securities Industry Act 1983 and Futures Industry Act 1993.Upon conviction, an illegal deposit-taking operator can be punished with imprisonment of up to 10 years or fine up to RM10 million or both, Bank Negara and the SC said.In the case of a continuing offence, the operator shall be liable to be punished with a daily fine up to RM100,000 for each day the offence continues, they said.For a money laundering offence, a person convicted shall be liable to a fine up to RM5 million or to imprisonment for a term up to five years, or both, Bank Negara and the SC said.Any person convicted of providing investment advice related to securities or futures activities, or carrying out fund management activities without a licence, faces a fine of up to RM1.0 million or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or both, they added.Bank Negara and the SC said they would take all measures against illegal investment activities, including enforcement action against operators and agents of illegal investment websites."To safeguard public interests, members of the public are cautioned to place deposits and invest with parties licensed by the authorities so that they are accorded the protection under the country's banking and securities laws," they said.A list of all licensed parties is available on the SC website at www.sc.com.my and the Bank Negara website at www.bnm.gov.my.Bank Negara and the SC urged the public to be vigilant when investing with local or foreign companies offering investment opportunities."Members of the public are advised not to fall prey to unscrupulous parties who promise investors with seemingly high-return investment activities," they said.They also advised members of the public to alert the authorities immediately of any suspicious websites, e-mails or information on the Internet relating to deposit taking activities and investment advice and services.