Recently, Home
Minister confirmed that Bank Pertanian Malaysia Bhd (Agrobank) suffered a loss
of RM203.8 million due to online fraud reported in November in 2025. A total of
47 individuals has been arrested in connection with the case, with three
charged under Section 424C(1) of the Penal Code for offences related to mule
accounts. While details of the Agrobank fraud were not disclosed, Section
424C(1) of the Penal Code provides that anyone using a bank account or payment
instrument for illegal purposes can face three to 10 years in prison, a fine of
RM10,000 to RM150,000, or both.
Agrobank is fully
owned by the Minister of Finance Inc, with the Federal Commissioner of Lands
holding one share, and is overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Security. On Nov 13 last year, Agrobank issued a statement saying it was
conducting a comprehensive review following a recent internal systems incident,
without providing specifics. In December, The Edge, citing sources,
reported that the system issue may be linked to a coordinated attempt to siphon
funds from the bank using hundreds of accounts.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org
Malaysia recorded
209,300 cases of online fraud from 2020 to 2025, resulting in total losses of
nearly RM8 billion, with telecommunications and e-commerce scams accounting for
the largest share.
Another case
involving a non-existent investment scheme reported in February 2025, resulted
in losses of about RM40 million. The case, being investigated under Section 420
of the Penal Code for cheating, involved a cryptocurrency investment scam in
which digital assets worth about US$6.4 million (RM25.1 million) were
transferred to multiple crypto wallets.
To combat online
fraud, the police have intensified enforcement under Sections 424A to 424D of
the Penal Code, which carry heavier penalties reflecting the seriousness of
organised cybercrime. The government is also reviewing proposed legal
amendments to tighten provisions under the Penal Code, the Communications and
Multimedia Act 1998, and laws related to money laundering and terrorism
financing, including stricter penalties and asset forfeiture for scam
syndicates, mule account holders and accomplices.
It is unfortunate that integrity is
out of fashion. This is banking and trust is the principal commodity. For
Agrobank they depend largely on government funding hence consequences are not
significant (except for the taxpayer). Had this been a commercial bank the
consequences will be more severe unless BNM steps in.
Lots of things need to change---
are we prepared to be transparent and change people behaviour or will we
tolerate these internal fraud schemes. There are cases like BMF, 1MDB, Ministry
of Defence and many others for a business school or a bank regulator to use as
case studies and prepare guidelines to help institutions improve their
so-called “firewalls”. But we don’t. Why?
Reference:
Minister: Agrobank
lost over RM200m in online fraud, three charged over mule accounts,
Choy Nyen Yiau, theedgemalaysia.com,
4 Feb 2026
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