RM1.9bil fraud attempts stopped in six months, over RM37bil assets recovered in five years: Bank Negara

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's financial sector prevented about RM1.9 billion in attempted fraudulent transactions in the first half of 2026.

This has already far exceeded the RM1.2 billion stopped throughout 2025, said Bank Negara Malaysia governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour.

He said more than RM37 billion in assets had also been recovered over the past five years, highlighting the growing effectiveness of Malaysia's efforts to combat financial crime.

"The greatest success is the fraud that never happens," Rasheed said in his special address at the 16th International Conference on Financial Crime and Counter Terrorism Financing (IFCTF) 2026 today.

He said Malaysia's fight against financial crime had evolved significantly since the enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, Anti-Restricted Activity Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA) 25 years ago.

The country has since strengthened its laws, institutions and risk-based supervisory framework, supported by a whole-of-nation approach involving agencies and the private sector.

Key platforms include the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, National Scam Response Centre, Multi-Agency Task Force, National Fraud Portal and MyFINet.

Malaysia's framework now covers more than 27,000 financial and non-financial reporting institutions, while five national money laundering and terrorism financing risk assessments have sharpened the authorities' understanding of emerging threats.

Rasheed said criminals were, however, adapting rapidly, particularly as artificial intelligence (AI), digital payments and cross-border financial flows created new opportunities for fraud.

"Criminals no longer operate at the speed of people. They operate at the speed of technology," he said.

AI-generated voices, images and videos were making social engineering and impersonation scams harder to detect, while AI agents could automate fraud campaigns, identify vulnerabilities and amplify cyberattacks.

Citing Interpol estimates, he said AI-enabled fraud was 4.5 times more profitable than traditional methods.

About 95 per cent of online fraud cases involve victims being deceived into transferring funds themselves, underscoring the need to prevent transactions before losses occur.

Bank Negara is therefore pushing the financial industry towards predictive and preventive fraud detection.

Since October 2025, the National Fraud Portal has piloted payment-network analysis to identify potential mule accounts, with PayNet flagging more than 1,600 suspicious accounts to date.

Rasheed also announced that industry-wide fraud alert capabilities are being developed to warn banks and customers of potential risks before transactions are completed.

A pilot involving selected banks is targeted for the first half of 2027, ahead of wider implementation.

He said Malaysia must also strengthen public-private, private-private and international information sharing as criminal networks increasingly operate across borders.

"Criminal networks know no borders, therefore we cannot be limited by national boundaries," he said.

Rasheed said Malaysia's next phase of financial crime prevention must focus on anticipating emerging threats, monitoring risks, leveraging technology responsibly and acting collectively.

"The true measure of our success is not the compliance we achieve. It is the trust we preserve," he said.