KL banks fined RM70m for breaking BNM rules

Kuala Lumpur

BANK Negara Malaysia (BNM) fined its licensees nearly RM70 million (S$23.7 million) for regulatory breaches last year, with the RM54 million imposed on Ambank for non-compliance with anti-money laundering laws making up the bulk of that.

The fines were more than 13 times the RM5.3 million imposed the year before, with the central bank having stepped up its enforcement action to defend the integrity of the financial system.

In its 2015 Financial Stability and Payment Systems Report released this week, BNM said the RM69.5 million in fines were for more than 240 offences identified under the laws it administers, and were in addition …