Malaysian public figures secretly keeping millions in offshore accounts

Putrajaya must institute mandatory asset declarations for leaders and top officials now that leaked HSBC documents show Malaysian public figures are keeping millions in offshore accounts, a student group demanded today.

The group calling itself Anak Muda Harapan Malaysia (AMHM) said that wealth declaration is crucial to stop illicit fund outflows, a perennial issue in Malaysia that was recently ranked fifth among countries with the most massive undeclared leakages.

“While ordinary Malaysians struggle to even buy an affordable home, it is amusing that certain Malaysians manage to amass such wealth and park it overseas, for reasons known best to them.

“We call upon the prime minister and the Bank Negara Malaysia to show deep concern and announce actions that will be taken to counter this illicit financial outflow,” the group said in a statement.

“AMHM also calls for mandatory wealth declaration by all senior civil servants, members of the Cabinet, parliamentarians and all political parties,” it added.

Malaysians were named among those with accounts with the Swiss branch of multinational bank HSBC, after a major leak revealed a clientele consisting of politicians, celebrities, criminals, traffickers and tax dodgers.

According to the leak now dubbed the “Swiss Leaks”, Malaysia was ranked 87th among 203 countries with the most amount of US dollars in the HSBC Swiss account, at US$173.4 million (RM621.6 million).

AMHM said the revelation underlined the severity of Malaysia’s corruption and needed immediate action by Putrajaya to punish the culprits.

It recommended that results from the actions taken by the authorities be made public from time-to-time, shaming tax evaders and parties involved in illegally siphoning funds out from Malaysia, prohibiting offenders from any asset purchase in the next five years and suspending the passports of offenders.

The group also demanded that civil servants found guilty of corruption be sacked and the existing Anti-Money Laundering Act be used extensively with greater emphasis on enforcement.

Between 1982 and 2006, a report compiled by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) on the leaks said there were 77 Malaysian client accounts linked to 201 bank accounts created between 1982 and 2006.

Among the 93 clients linked to Malaysia, 28 per cent holds Malaysian passports or nationality.

The most amount of money stored by a Malaysian client was US$67.7 million (RM242.7 million). In comparison, Malaysia’s income per capita is just US$10,500, as per latest data in 2013.