Uncovering illegal financial flows in corporate Malaysia

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Global Financial Integrity, an American think-tank, released its eighth report on “Illicit Financial Flows” in January 2019. The report ranked Malaysia among countries with large outflows of illicit money alongside nations like Brazil, South Africa and Vietnam.

The flow of illicit funds is the illegal movement of money or capital from one country to another that is often associated with money laundering and financing of terrorism. Such conduct is facilitated by the manipulation of corporate vehicles, which include either “legal persons” (eg, companies) or “legal arrangements” (eg, trusts), to hide the identity of "natural persons” (eg, individuals) who ultimately own, control or benefit from the actions undertaken.