3 March 2021
The list of permitted disclosures that a financial institution is permitted to make in relation to the affairs or account of its customers has been expanded by several amendments to the relevant legislation by:
1. Financial Services (Amendment of Schedule 11) Order 2021;
2. Islamic Financial Services (Amendment of Schedule 11) Order 2021; and
3. Development Financial Institutions (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) Order 2021,
(collectively “Amendment Orders”).
The Amendment Orders amend the relevant schedules in the following ways:
• Financial institutions are now permitted to disclose documents and information to all persons to whom that disclosure is required to be made under a hiwalah order. Previously this only covered disclosures to persons who have obtained a garnishee order;
• Financial institutions are now permitted to comply with a court order made by a court not lower than “a Syariah Subordinate Court, a Syariah High Court, or a Syariah Appeal Court” in addition to the Sessions Court;
• The scope of documents and information which is permitted to be disclosed to the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia for the purposes of facilitating exchange of information pursuant to taxation arrangements or agreements under the Income Tax Act 1967 has been expanded to include section 132B of the Income Tax Act 1967 (information under any arrangement with the government of any foreign territory for mutual administrative assistance in tax matters, including simultaneous tax examinations, automatic exchange of information or tax administrations abroad);
• When a financial institution has reason to suspect that an offence under any written law has been, or is being or may be committed, the list of persons to whom customer documents or information may be disclosed to has been expanded to include any officer of
(a) any financial institution or its association;
(b) an Islamic financial institution as defined in section 143 of the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 or its association; or
(c) a prescribed institution as defined in subsection 3(1) of the Development Financial Institutions Act 2002 or its association; who may receive the documents or information.
For further information, please contact:
Dhinesh Bhaskaran, Managing Partner, Shearn Delamore & Co
dhinesh@shearndelamore.com
