Lawyers and Money Laundering

Being a lawyer, sometimes, you have to deal with people from foreign country looking for someone who wants to represent them here in Malaysia. We are also open to be abused, as in being used by syndicates to siphon money into our country as lawyers are actually agents who do jobs and represent people for various transaction. The problem with dealing with foreigners is that not all of them are genuine. Some are taking advantage of the system trying to 'clean' their dirty money which they may have accumulated through illegal ways. They then find an unsuspecting lawyers who will then be a victim if he or she is not careful enough. 

Malaysian government has enacted a law called the Anti-Money Laundering Act or AMLA, as it is well known to monitor and take action against any individual or company which had acted in such ways which may actually try to bring such money into Malaysia. It is a law which allow them to even freeze the account of the suspected money launderer. As lawyers, just imagine if this happens and that money is in the bank account which you keep all your other client's money. You actually cannot use any of the money until the investigation is completed.

That is why a lawyer must always be suspicious if there is a call out of the blue or if someone here asked you to handle transaction worth millions or a high sum of money without explaining who they are or what they do. Basically, nowadays, lawyers have to be more careful of whom they are dealing with, as opposed to the old days when as long as they get paid, they can take a client's instruction and get the job done. The problem is that most of the transaction asked to be done by the alleged money launderer is genuine. As in buying propoerties, renting properties, banking transaction such as loans or even setting up an office here in Malaysia. How far can a lawyer know his client especially as you grow bigger and you have too many client to know them individually.

That is unless you do all this with full knowledge who your client are. Then you yourself should know the consequences of such action.