KUALA LUMPUR: Banks must reimburse scam victims if negligence by the institution is identified, leading to the occurrence of a scam, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar said this was governed under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
"If bank negligence is identified, the bank will pay. For example, to date, under Section 413 of the CPC, RM138,407 (money belonging to scam victims) has been refunded, meaning some have already received their money back.
"If it is found that the bank has failed to monitor according to the regulations, the bank must compensate.
"So, I agree with the principle applied in the United Kingdom (which requires banks to pay compensation in cases of negligence) and it should be applicable here," he said during the Prime Minister's Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Nurul Amin Hamid (PN-Padang Terap), who asked if banks could be held accountable if found negligent, resulting in the theft of funds from customers' bank accounts.
Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Doris Sophia Brodie (GPS-Sri Aman) asked the prime minister if the government was considering proposing a holistic and comprehensive law against online financial crime, such as the Scam Bill introduced in Singapore.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, said there was a comprehensive review committee looking into laws regarding online financial crime, as well as coordination with other Asean countries.
"Some (scams) happen due to (bank account) user liability, where they agree to the use of their account, but some are completely unaware.
"So what we've identified is that if they are deceived because they were persuaded by relevant parties, then that's another issue.
"Many are not being informed (that their accounts are being used) at all. That's why the law has to be tightened and we hope that if possible, it will be ready and presented in the first session next year.