Functions of the competent authority
(1) The Minister of Finance may, by order published in the Gazette, appoint a person to be the competent authority and such person shall have all the functions conferred on the competent authority by this Act. (2) The competent authority may authorise any of its officers or any other person to perform any or all of its functions or render such assistance in the performance of its functions under this Act as it may specify.
Provisions relating to the competent authority
(1) The Minister of Finance may, upon the recommendation of the competent authority, who shall consult the relevant supervisory authority of a reporting institution, by order published in the Gazette, invoke any or all of the provisions of Part IV in respect of that reporting institution. (2) For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that a competent authority may exercise its powers under this section in respect of reporting institutions carrying on any or all of the activities listed in the First Schedule, and shall— (a) receive and analyse information and reports from any person, including reports issued by reporting institutions under section 14; (b) send any report received under paragraph (a) or any information derived from any such report to an enforcement agency if it is satisfied or has reason to believe or suspect that a transaction involves proceeds of an unlawful activity or a serious offence is being, has been or is about to be committed; and (c) send any information derived from an examination carried out under Part IV to an enforcement agency if it has reason to suspect that a transaction involves proceeds of an unlawful activity or a serious offence is being, has been or is about to be committed. (3) The competent authority may— (a) compile statistics and records; (b) give instructions to a reporting institution in relation to any report or information received under section 14; (c) make recommendations to the relevant supervisory authority, enforcement agency and reporting institutions arising out of any report or information received under subsection (2); and (d) create training requirements and provide training for any reporting institutions in respect of their transactions and reporting and record-keeping obligations under Part IV.
Authorisation to release information
(1) Subject to subsection (2), the competent authority may, in writing, authorise any enforcement agency or its designated officers to have access to such information as the competent authority may specify for the purposes of performing the enforcement agency’s functions. (2) In respect of any information received from a reporting institution carrying on any business activity listed under Part II of the First Schedule, the competent authority shall authorise Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority or its designated officers to have access to that information. (3) The competent authority may, in writing, authorise the Attorney-General or his designated officer to have access to such information as the competent authority may specify for the purpose of dealing with a foreign State’s request in relation to mutual assistance in criminal matters.
Communication to a foreign State
(1) Notwithstanding any other written law or rule of law, the competent authority may communicate any thing disclosed to it under section 14 to a corresponding authority of a foreign State if— (a) there exists an arrangement between Malaysia and a foreign State under which the corresponding authority of the foreign State has agreed to communicate to Malaysia, upon Malaysia’s request, information received by the corresponding authority that corresponds to any thing required to be disclosed to the competent authority under section 14; and (b) the competent authority is satisfied that the corresponding authority has given appropriate undertakings— (i) for protecting the confidentiality of any thing communicated to it; and (ii) for controlling the use that will be made of it, including an undertaking that it will not be used as evidence in any proceedings. (2) In this section, “corresponding authority”, in relation to a foreign State, means the authority of that foreign State responsible for receiving information that corresponds to any thing required to be disclosed to a competent authority under section 14.
Prohibited disclosure
Subject to section 12, no person who has obtained information from a competent authority under Part IV shall— (a) while he is authorised under section 9, disclose or communicate the information except to another officer authorised under that section, for the purposes of, or in connection with, the performance of his duties; and (b) when he is no longer authorised under section 9, make a record of the information, or disclose or communicate the information in any circumstances.
Permitted disclosure
(1) Nothing in section 11 shall prevent the communication of the competent authority’s information under this Part with respect to a prosecution or legal proceedings in connection with the commission of a serious offence, a foreign serious offence or an offence under subsection 4(1). (2) Nothing in section 11 shall prevent the communication of the competent authority’s information under this Part in respect of the affairs of a person by the person authorised under section 9 to— (a) if the person is not a company, that person; (b) if the person is a company— (i) any person who is, or has been, a director or an officer of the company; or (ii) any person who is, or has been directly involved in, or responsible for, the preparation of information furnished on behalf of the company; or (c) the person who furnished the information to the competent authority. (3) No person to whom the competent authority or person authorised under section 9 communicates any information under this Part and the information does not relate to the affairs of the person shall make a record of the information or disclose, or communicate the information to any person in any circumstances. (4) Any person who contravenes subsection (3) commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding one million ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both. (5) Except where it is necessary to do so for the purposes of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act, a person who obtains information from the competent authority under this Part shall not be required to produce in court any document containing any of the information or to disclose or communicate to any court such information.
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).