Financial Services Act 2013, Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 and Development Financial Institutions Act 2002 amended to permit additional disclosures

30 March 2021

On 10 February 2021, the Financial Services (Amendment of Schedule 11) Order 2021, Islamic Financial Services (Amendment of Schedule 11) Order 2021 and the Development Financial Institutions (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) Order 2021 (collectively, “Orders”) were gazetted. The Orders amend the Financial Services Act 2013 (“FSA”), Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (“IFSA”) and Development Financial Institutions Act 2002 (“DFIA”) respectively.

The Orders amend the relevant schedules under the FSA, IFSA and DFIA to allow additional permitted disclosures of customer documents or information by a financial institution or any of its directors or officers for the following purposes or circumstances:

  • Compliance by a licensed bank or licensed investment bank which has been served a hiwalah order attaching moneys in the account of a customer; 
  • Compliance with a court order made by a court not lower than a Syariah Subordinate Court, a Syariah High Court or a Syariah Appeal Court; or 
  • If the documents of information is required by the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia under section 81 of the Income Tax Act 1967 (“ITA”) for the purposes of facilitating exchange of information pursuant to taxation arrangements or agreements having effect under section 132B of the ITA. Section 132B of the ITA refers to arrangements 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.

Disclosures of customer documents or information by a financial institution or any of its directors or officers are now also permitted if a financial institution has reason to suspect that an offence under any written law has been, is being or may be committed, to any officer of: 

  • a financial institution as defined in section 131 of the FSA or its association; 
  • an Islamic financial institution as defined in section 143 of the IFSA or its association; or 
  • a prescribed institution as defined in section 3(1) of the DFIA or its association,who may receive the documents or information.