KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki said that the anti-graft body is expecting an increase in corrupt practices and power abuse in Malaysia in the coming years.

He said this is due to the vulnerable and complex environment that Malaysia currently finds itself in, but did not elaborate further, according to a report by The Star today.

"With the Covid-19 pandemic impacting the domestic economy, the MACC will focus on reducing leakage of public money and the return of ill-gotten proceeds through the recovery of assets,” he said.

Azam added that checking on leakages is essential as the government spends billions annually on the procurement of goods and services.

"While most of us would agree that corruption, be it in the public or private sector, cannot be completely eradicated, the fight against corruption must be pursued even with challenges brought on by the new normal,” he said in his keynote address at Kenanga’s 4th Fraud Awareness Week yesterday.

Azam also added that creative methods are being utilised by criminals to bypass financial institutions’ customer diligence measures and exploit instruments to perform illegal activities through trade finance facilities, insurance and wire transfers, among others.

He said the acts were hidden through various layers of records and documentation, and the conversion of ill-gotten proceeds was done through new mediums such as virtual assets, underground traders, cross-border financial institutions and offshore financial services.

He cited a 1MDB-related case in Hong Kong as an example where officials discovered an investment company was used as a vehicle to hold funds amounting to RM600 million in 2011.

"Some years later, the same funds were transferred back into the country, layered using multiple accounts held by different companies with different banks,” he said.

The MACC chief added that criminals were increasingly using financial technology platforms and cash instead of bank transfers to avoid detection, citing the Macau scam as an example.

"The syndicates keep cash in their operating centre. It is believed that they had transacted billions of ringgit over the past five years by using fintech platforms to conduct transactions,” he said.

Azam also stressed the key role of financial institutions as "frontliners” in the fight against fraudsters.

Transactions, especially those involving high-risk customers, should be scrutinised in terms of sources of the funds and where the money went, he added.