Dewan Negara approves Labuan-related bills under Finance Ministry

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) -- Three bills under the Ministry of Finance which seek, among others, to modernise and update the legal aspects of the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) were passed in the Dewan Negara today.

The Labuan Companies (Amendment) Bill 2022 to amend the Labuan Companies Act 1990 (Act 441), and the Labuan Financial Services and Securities (Amendment) Bill 2022 to modify the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010 were debated and passed.

Meanwhile, the Labuan Islamic Financial Services and Securities (Amendment) Bill 2022 to amend the Labuan Islamic Financial Services and Securities Act 2010 was also debated and passed.

Deputy Finance Minister II Yamani Hafez Musa said the amendment to Act 441 was to adopt international financial standards and best practices related to money laundering and terrorism financing.

“Based on the risk assessment made on Malaysia including Labuan IBFC under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2014, the FATF has proposed several measures to be taken to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing activities.

“The assessment covers the level of compliance and a total of 40 recommendations have been submitted by the FATF so that the level of effectiveness of the system can be strengthened,” he said when winding up the tabling of the bills in the Dewan Negara today.

He said amendments to Act 441 were also made so that Labuan IBFC could comply with international tax standards to address the problem of tax revenue leakage and earnings transfer.

“The amendments to the bills today were made so that we are not blacklisted as a jurisdiction that encourages money laundering activities and defaults on commitments to the FATF, as well as ensuring that our tax framework meets international standards,” he said.

Yamani Hafez said among the amendments to Act 441 made included banning the issuance of share warrants to any company in Labuan.

“We also provide identification related to the transparency of beneficial owner information and the need for companies in Labuan to procure, record and update the information so that it is accessible by customers and investors,” he added.

-- BERNAMA