The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) today organised the SSM National Conference 2023 (SSMNC2023), online, to provide exposure to anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
The conference’s opening speech text of the late Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living who died on Sunday (July 23), was read out by SSM chairman Ahmad Sabki Yusof.
Ahmad Sabki, before reading the text, asked the audience to recite Surah Al-Fatihah and observe a moment of silence.
In a statement issued today, SSM said that the conference, themed ‘Shared Responsibility in Strengthening AML/CFT Compliance: Risks, Challenge and Collaborations’, was aimed at company directors, secretaries, accountants, auditors, lawyers and corporate bodies.
The theme is timely, to address the latest threats and trends using financial crime corporate entities, it said.
This conference is also seen as one of the platforms to fight financial crime, which is a shared responsibility, in efforts to protect the financial system in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, SSM chief executive officer Datuk Nor Azimah Abdul Aziz, in the same statement, said as a regulatory and corporate governance body, SSM always supports the national agenda in combating money laundering and terrorism financing.
“As part of Malaysia’s preparation towards a joint assessment by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2024 to 2025, SSM has introduced various initiatives including issuing a guideline, entitled ‘Guideline for the Reporting Framework for Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons’.
“SSM also issued a consultative paper for those involved in proposing amendments to the Companies Act 2016 and the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2012, towards strengthening the beneficial owner’s reporting framework,” she said.
The SSMNC2023 featured 11 plenary sessions, with interesting topics for discussion with 48 panellists, consisting of corporate sector practitioners, who have extensive expertise and experience in various fields.
Among the topics of discussion are ‘Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing-Malaysia’s Risk Map’; ‘Stepping Up the Game’; ‘Leveraging on Emerging Technology to Fight Corruption’; ‘Be Scam Aware’; ‘Prevention and Good Practice in NPO Sector against Money Laundering & Terrorism Financing’ and ‘Enhancement to the Corporate Rehabilitation Framework’.
The SSMNC2023, with the highest participation of 3,000 people, was also attended by Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, Senator Fuziah Salleh, and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living secretary-general Datuk Azman Mohd Yusof.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency