converting crypto currencies into fiat money currencies as reporting institutions under the anti - money laundering, anti - terrorism financing and proceeds of unlawful activities act 2001. this is to prevent the abuse of the system for criminal and unlawful activities and ensuring the stability and integrity of the financial system. strategic partnership dynamic collaboration between the public and private sector is imperative to create an environment conducive for the creation of innovative solutions. one of the main findings from the global fintech report published by pwc recently is that legislation is not keeping pace with innovation, creating significant uncertainty. this tells us that a more adaptable structure in policymaking, that minimises bureaucratic hurdles or “ red tape ”, could be advantageous under the current dynamic environment to encourage potentially important innovations. for that reason, bank negara malaysia launched its very own fintech regulatory sandbox in 2016 to allow experimentation of fintech solutions in a ‘ live ’ environment. a number of innovative financial solutions have been allowed to operate under this sandbox initiative, including an e - kyc solution that could revolutionise the aml / cft framework in the financial sector in malaysia. this initiative allows for the viability of new technologies to be tested in a controlled environment while simultaneously exploring potential risks and the mitigating measures. in addition, bank negara malaysia will continue to foster cooperative platforms between the authorities and financial institutions to enable “ rapid responses ” to terrorism financing threats. early this year, we facilitated an information sharing platform between law enforcement agencies and selected financial institutions to swiftly and effectively mitigate risks and respond to threats. greater access of intelligence information for financial institutions and the increased threats from isil had resulted in the upward trend of reporting of suspicious transaction reports ( strs ). to 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches put it in perspective, in 2015, the financial intelligent unit ( fiu ) received 93 terrorism financing related strs which led to 14 disclosures to law enforcement agencies. in comparison, between january and june 2017, we received 346 terrorism financing related strs which have led to 34 disclosures to law enforcement agencies. importantly, the quality of strs submitted has also improved. bank negara malaysia is also in the midst of finalising the details of a new requirement for the banking and money services business sector to report remittances in high risk areas. the high risk areas will be determined based on the law enforcement agency ’ s intelligence on areas that they view may pose higher risks for

muhammad bin ibrahim : readying the financial sector amid the evolving war on terrorism financing welcoming remarks by mr muhammad bin ibrahim, governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the third counter - terrorism financing summit 2017 " powering regional solutions through strengthened alliances and innovations ", kuala lumpur, 22 november 2017. * * * “ readying the financial sector amid the evolving war on terrorism financing ” welcome to sasana kijang, bank negara malaysia. we are pleased to host the 3rd joint regional counter - terrorism financing summit 2017 with our partners, the australian transaction reports and analysis centre ( austrac ) and pusat pelaporan dan analisis transaksi keuangan ( ppatk ) indonesia. the summit, which was first held in 2015 in sydney, has now become a hallmark event for many across the region ; policy makers, law enforcement personnel, the financial intelligence community and financial industry players. the summit is a cumulation of the year ’ s work in producing impactful outcomes for counter terrorism financing. with over 400 participants from over 30 countries and international organisations, this summit is a testament to our commitment and determination to strengthen our cooperation in combating undesirable financial activities across the globe. the nature of terror and terrorism financing is much more complex, say, compared to ten years ago. numerous new methods to raise, move and store funds, were conducted through smallscaled transfers via banks or money services businesses. and in some cases, via physical transportation of cash. recent advancements in financial technology provide new opportunities for anonymity. we should envisage that terrorist financiers will attempt to benefit from anonymous transactions made possible by innovations of new payment products and services such as internet - based payment systems, prepaid cards and virtual currencies. likewise, fundraising through social media and other online platforms such as “ crowdfunding ” have increased in prominence, in addition to other more traditional sources of funds such as proceeds of criminal activities, conventional donations, and funding from legitimate purposes. as change is a constant, collation of data points that this environment will continue to persist. global internet users have increased from 397 million in the year 2000 to nearly 3. 9 billion as of june 2017, an impressive growth of almost 1000 %. similarly, global investment activities in the fintech industry have increased from usd9 billion in 2010 to usd25 billion in 2016. if this trend is anything to go by, the