From year 2020 onwards, the LIIA with collaboration with VBS has successfully rolled out professional certification programs and AMLA annual training either through virtual or face to face for LIIA Members. One of the certification programs rolled out by VBS is the Certified Compliance Officer (CCO) Course jointly organized with University Malaysia Sabah, Centre of Professional Development. Participants from financial institutions that successfully complete and pass the final examination will be accorded and certified as Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism & Regulatory Compliance Officer [CCO~UMS-CfPD].
The ambition is to create financial industry players and also officers within the LIIA membership, who can navigate the pitfalls of the modern financial world. In a financial world, where scams and money laundering are rampant, the financial industry needs to be vigilant and be conscious of the various modus operandi applied by scammers and money launderers. The financial industry needs to be able to identify unusual financial patterns used by the crooks and take preventive measures. This CCO course is to provide the CCO graduates with the tools and knowledge to deal with the scammers and money launderers effectively.
The Paradise Papers, Panama Papers, Pandora Papers, and 1MDB scandals have revealed the significant vulnerabilities within the financial system. Even with stricter regulations aimed at combating money laundering and illicit financial activities, these incidents demonstrate how such practices can still evade even the most vigilant financial oversight under frameworks like the AMLA 2001. A robust system to detect abuses of the financial system has to be put in place to deter crooks. The financial industry grapples to adapt to new conditions and a challenging environment all the time. Satisfying the needs of its customers while complying with regulations is a very slippery slope and need well trained personnel to navigate the dangers.
In 2024, 71 CCO graduates we honoured for their achievements at Eastin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on 6th December. A total of 23 candidates from Labuan Insurance sector eventually graduated after a grueling 3 months of intensive assignments and a final 3 hours paper examination. 6 candidates from Labuan Insurance sector scored distinctions while the rest passed with merits or just pass, thereby qualifying all of them as Certified Compliance Officers.
The LIIA hopes that CCO graduates will play a pivotal role in enhancing the security of Malaysia’s financial sector, specifically by strengthening efforts to combat money laundering and contributing to a safer, more resilient financial system across the nation.