KUALA LUMPUR: Police will share information with banks and financial institutions on “mule bank accounts” so that the owner is blacklisted and will not be able to open a new account.
The information will also be listed on the Portal Semak Mule of the commercial crime investigation department (CCID).
Bukit Aman CCID director Kamarudin Md Din said the trend in commercial crime now was the increasing use of “mule accounts” by criminals to commit fraudulent acts through online activities or social media.
“Last year, a total of 29,769 bank accounts were found to be used as ‘mule accounts’, while for this year until May 10, a total of 1,669 ‘mule accounts’ were recorded.
“Of that number, a total of 12,659 individuals were arrested and charged with various offences for allowing their bank accounts to be used for criminal activities,” he said in a statement today.
Kamarudin said police investigations showed that those who allowed their accounts to be used by others were aware that they should not disclose any information of their account to any party, as clearly stated in the terms and conditions when opening a bank account.
He also warned any individual or company who no longer had control over their bank accounts to immediately close them to avoid arrest if the account was found to have been used for illegal activities.
Kamarudin also sought the cooperation of NGOs to help police make the public aware that they could no longer claim ignorance, adding that stern action would be taken against the bank account holder who would be considered an accomplice to the crime.
A “mule account” is when an individual or company allows their bank accounts to be controlled by others by handing over their ATM cards’ PIN number or online banking password to criminals to receive money from fraudulent activities.