By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Oct 13: The Unity Government has set aside RM30 million in Budget 2024 to assist overseas job fraud and online scam victims, says Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the proposed budget provides an additional RM10 million under the Overseas Malaysian People’s Trust Fund to defend the fate of the people who are victims of employment fraud syndicates and other welfare cases abroad.
Meanwhile, RM20 million has been allocated to allow the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) to combat online scam crimes.
“Since its inception, the NSRC has handled over 49,000 calls and managed to freeze up transactions amounting to RM60 million.
“Next year, the Government will increase NSRC’s allocation to RM20 million compared to the previous RM10 million allocation to increase its functionality in combatting online scam cases,” he said when tabling Budget 2024 in Dewan Rakyat today.
He also mentioned that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is collaborating with the financial sector to develop the National Fraud Portal (NFP), which is expected to be ready by mid-2024.
Upon completion, the Portal will speed up the tracking period, freezing, and repatriation of funds in online scam crimes.
He also said relevant agencies are examining the need to amend the law, including the Criminal Procedure Code, to enable more effective action against syndicates and donkey account holders, thereby speeding up the return process of money to scam victims. — DayakDaily
