are fraud, corruption, smuggling, illicit drug trafficking, and organised crimes. corruption, for example, is a systemic issue that infiltrates every sector and level of our society. it funds and enables other higher - risk and devastating crimes. those in the financial industry that facilitate or participate in these corrupt activities, without a doubt, leave repercussions for both victims and society at large. this is why bank negara malaysia ( bnm ) has zero tolerance for such serious lapses in integrity by employees of financial institutions, such as those that have made headlines recently. these employees had been recruited by criminal syndicates to facilitate corruption and fraudulent activities. while these cases are isolated, they can severely 2 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches tarnish the entire industry's reputation and erode public confidence and trust. bnm has put in place robust supervisory and enforcement processes in these areas, including requiring banks to undertake screening and vetting of new hires and frontline staff on an ongoing basis. bnm will not hesitate to impose heavy penalties on financial institutions that have lapses in these areas. at the end of the day, fighting financial crime requires the full commitment of every single employee within the financial institution. strong governance and risk controls must be reinforced by a healthy risk culture. this begins with a rigorous hiring process that not only accounts for technical proficiencies but also integrity. an institution is as good as its people. it is for this reason that bnm sets high expectations in its employee screening requirements for financial institutions. each employee must see themselves as custodians of public trust and recognise the significance of their role within the financial system. part 3 : collaboration – continuous and sustained ladies and gentlemen, while it falls on each of us to bear our duties with integrity and competence, we must also be good collaborators with one another. financial crimes are not just confined to the financial sector. they permeate various facets of our daily lives, impacting our communities, businesses and the very fabric of our society. this reality underscores the necessity for a whole - of - nation approach where everyone has a role to play. one clear example of where synergies have been critical is in addressing frauds and scams. in the last 21 months since its establishment in october 2022, the national scam response centre has received approximately 105, 000 calls from scam victims, with a total reported loss of rm328 million. these numbers represent merely the tip of the iceberg

marzunisham omar : opening remarks - international conference on financial crime and terrorism financing ( ifctf ) masterclass 2024 opening remarks by mr marzunisham omar, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the international conference on financial crime and terrorism financing ( ifctf ) masterclass 2024, kuala lumpur, 19 august 2024. * * * assalamu'alaikum warahamatullahi wabarakatuh and a very good morning. thank you for inviting me to speak today. it is an honour and a pleasure to see so many people in the room. i would like to express my sincere gratitude to both aicb and the compliance officers'networking group for their effort and leadership in organising this event. as mentioned by tan sri azman hashim earlier, this is the 14th iteration of the ifctf and the first time it is held in a masterclass format. these exchanges grow in importance each year, amid an environment of rapid changes across the financial landscape. the ifctf, in particular, has always been a platform for leading practitioners to have discussions on the frontiers of tackling financial crimes. the conference is especially timely, given that the national coordination committee to counter money laundering ( ncc ) has recently endorsed malaysia's national risk assessment ( nra ) 2023. it is also of significance as we are in the midst of preparing for the 5th round of the mutual evaluation exercise by the financial action task force. today's masterclass is an exercise in technical depth and exploration, which i hope all participants will find practical and useful. this morning, i would like to speak on three principles that we must embrace in strengthening our ability to address financial crimes : competence, commitment, and collaboration. part 1 : competence – strengthening skillsets ladies and gentlemen, the financial crime landscape is continuously evolving. a key transformative enabler is technology and its rapid advancement. for instance, pwc uk's 2023 report identifies that artificial intelligence ( ai ) will likely drive an increase in the volume and sophistication of fraud and scams. in malaysia today, we also observe these risks materialising as a new wave of scams which leverage technology, such as malware and ai - developed deepfakes, is deployed on social media to deceive victims. the nra 2023 further concluded an upward trend of virtual assets illicit activities in malaysia ( although still small in value ) and