Page 57 - SC SCAR 2023 ENGLISH Flipbook
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27% Corporate misconduct
4% Obstruction of investigation
7% Money 9%
laundering Disclosure 16% breaches Insider trading
15%
Securities fraud
2% Others
11% Manipulation
PART 2 REGULATORY PERFORMANCE AND OUTCOMES
CHART 1
Breakdown of active investigation cases
FIGURE 2
Breakdown of investigation works carried out
9%
Unlicensed activities
1,344
notices issued to procure documents and information
327
statements recorded
193
boxes of documents seized from raids
351
pieces of evidence extracted from digital sources
The SC’s investigation process ensures that investigation activities are conducted thoroughly, objectively, and effectively following the due process. In 2023, more than 1,600 notices were issued to compel individuals and entities to either appear before an SC’s Investigating Officer for examination or to produce specific documents and information to an SC’s Investigating Officer, for the purpose of fact finding and evidence gathering. A series of raids have also been carried out at various locations in Malaysia to facilitate the ongoing investigations of several cases. Details of which are provided in Figure 2.
Mitigating Risk of Money Laundering
In 2023, the SC took steps under the AMLATFPUAA, to freeze and seize cash and shares amounting to approximately RM100 million, which are suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities. This action is part of an ongoing money laundering investigation, and the freezing and seizing of the said funds aim to prevent the dissipation of funds, while the investigation is still ongoing.
Leveraging the SC’s Digital Forensic Unit
The increased utilisation of digital communication and digital devices has undeniably heightened the complexity of the SC’s investigation of securities offences. Following the establishment of the SC’s in-house Digital Forensics (DF) unit in 2020, there has been significant improvement of timely extraction and preservation of digital evidence.
With the proliferation of mobile technology, the SC has since continuously invested in mobile forensic tools that facilitates efficient extraction as well as e-Discovery tools to perform in-depth analysis of large volumes of data extracted from digital evidence, to expedite the process of identification and evidence gathering.
In 2023, the DF unit had preserved evidence from 351 digital sources including from physical sources (computers, mobile phones and tablets) as well as online sources (email accounts and cloud storage). A quarter of the digital evidence were extracted and preserved on-site upon identification. The preservation of digital evidence such as emails and text messages is crucial for establishing the modus operandi of criminal activities involving securities fraud, corporate misconduct and disclosure breaches. The integration of digital forensic capabilities enhances investigative efficiency by facilitating the analysis of preserved digital evidence in criminal cases.
Effective Collaboration with Other Law Enforcement Agencies and Foreign Supervisory Authorities
Collaboration with other law enforcement agencies is paramount for the SC to carry out its regulatory functions. The SC continuously works closely with other enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities within Malaysia, in its efforts to collaborate and gather evidence for purpose of establishing breaches investigated under securities law. These include among others, the Royal Malaysia Police, BNM and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
SECURITIES COMMISSION MALAYSIA ANNUAL REPORT 2023 55