KUALA LUMPUR: More than RM15.5bil in assets and cash linked to corruption, smuggling and financial crimes have been recovered over the past two years, with over 20 cases brought to court so far, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said this was made possible by stronger, coordinated enforcement, adding that the recovery was the result of a more aggressive, cross-agency approach to tackling long-standing leakages and criminal networks.
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"Combined enforcement efforts have been intensified over the last two years and will certainly continue," he said during Prime Minister's Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Nov 11).
"If there had been no effective enforcement, we wouldn’t have seen the recovery of RM15.5bil.
"As far as I know, this is the most effective operation in our history," he added.
Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng (BN-Tanjung Piai) had asked why such large-scale enforcement, with high-value seizures, had not been carried out before, and whether or not offenders had been prosecuted.
Anwar said the first phase of the operation involved investigations and seizures, followed by the prosecution stage once the Attorney General finalises the charges.
"More than 20 cases have already been charged and others are still at various stages in court," he said.
He said the government had given enforcement bodies full authority to act collectively rather than in silos.
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"In the past, each agency worked separately – the MACC, Customs, police, Inland Revenue Board and the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry. Now they share information and act firmly without fear or favour," he added.
Anwar noted that these agencies were now taking on "big cartels and major syndicates", including scam operators and smugglers who had evaded action for decades.
"These are not small players. Some have operated for 10 to 20 years and were considered untouchable because of their wealth and influence," he said.
He expressed appreciation to the agencies concerned for their coordinated efforts.
"From the end of 2023 to this year, we managed to prevent losses and recover funds totalling RM15.5bil. This is no small figure," he said.
He said the amount comprised RM8bil in forfeited assets collected by the MACC, RM4bil in seizures by the police, RM2.5bil by Customs, and RM1bil in penalties imposed by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry together with the Malaysia Competition Commission.
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"These include cash, property, shares and corporate assets. The recovered money has been placed in the government’s consolidated fund and will be spent according to budget allocations for education, defence, health and other sectors," he said.
He added that enforcement agencies were now equipped with new tools, such as digital tax stamps, centralised cargo screening systems, CCTV networks and body-worn cameras to strengthen monitoring.
"These measures are crucial. For years, syndicates operated freely – some for two decades – because enforcement was weak. Now, we are serious about cleaning up the system," he said.
To a separate question from Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (PN-Tanjong Karang) on the status of 1Malaysia Development Berhad asset recovery, Anwar said efforts were ongoing, with an additional RM1bil recently brought back to Malaysia.
"The total repatriated now exceeds RM32.7bil, and the process is continuing in several jurisdictions, including London," he added.
