Public Bank committed to fighting financial crimes

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd (PBB) is committed to combating financial crimes and will cooperate with the authorities to maintain the integrity of the financial system.

It views seriously the need to fight financial crimes and comply with all applicable legal, regulatory and supervisory requirements.

“We have always adopted a zero tolerance approach towards money laundering and terrorism financing,” Public Bank managing director and CEO Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek said in the statement.

According to a leaked document of the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN), a total of 23 transactions that flowed to or from banks in Malaysia between 2010 and 2016 had been flagged by Us-based banks as suspicious,

Of the transactions, a total of Us$4.88mil involved incoming funds and Us$13.38mil involved outgoing funds.

PBB was reportedly linked to seven transactions involving Us$13.37mil sent out of Malaysia, followed by Ambank with two transactions involving a total of Us$2.9mil received. Tay said the monitoring and reporting of suspicious transactions are part of obligation under the Anti-money Laundering/ Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/ CFT) frameworks.

“Public Bank is subjected to strict arrangements in protecting the confidentiality and security of suspicious transaction reporting within secured IT system environment and information controls,” he said.