South-East Asia risks becoming cyber fraud hub, Azam Baki warns

The Star

14 hours ago

KOTA KINABALU: South-East Asia is fast becoming a hub for cyber-enabled fraud with cross-border criminal syndicates exploiting digital platforms and weak governance to perpetrate large-scale financial scams, says Tan Sri Azam Baki.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner said recent investigations, both domestic and international, pointed to disturbing activity of transnational digital crime networks in the region.
'Digital platforms have become the preferred medium for fraud syndicates. These groups are sophisticated, well-funded, and take advantage of gaps in regulation and enforcement across jurisdictions,' he said at the International Conference on Technology, Management and Sustainability (ICTMS 2025) here on Wednesday (June 18).
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Addressing the growing global challenge of digital crime and corruption, he said Malaysia had taken steps to disrupt these criminal networks by working with partners such as Interpol.
He cited the wide-ranging Ops Tropicana probe of investment scams and digital fraud operations as an example.
'Ops Tropicana uncovered large-scale investment fraud involving the use of online platforms, digital wallets and cross-border fund transfers.
"These syndicates often enlist professional enablers, including accountants, company secretaries, and legal advisers, to legitimise their operations.
'These are not simple scams. They are well-structured operations... (that are) much harder to detect and prosecute,' he said.
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MACC intelligence found that digital fraud syndicates have evolved from petty online scams into highly organised ecosystems, often operating call centres and shell companies across the region to mask their activities, he noted.
'These criminal networks are agile. They move operations across borders, target regulatory grey zones, and adapt rapidly to enforcement tactics,' Azam said, stressing the need for international cooperation to fight this threat.
Azam also called for stronger legal frameworks governing technology, more robust oversight of digital finance and fintech (financial technology) platforms, and tightening company formation procedures, which are often exploited to hide ownership and the flow of illicit funds.
'Digitalisation has unlocked tremendous opportunities, but it has also created new risks. It is time for regulators, businesses, and governments to work together in preventing digital platforms from becoming safe havens for crime,' he said.
He also told conference participants in his keynote address that digitalisation without ethical oversight is a recipe for disaster.
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He said that while digital tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain offer vast potential, they must be accompanied by strong governance frameworks.
'Without proper oversight, automation can be abused. Without proper controls, these innovations become vulnerabilities, not solutions.
'Technology is not the enemy. Poor governance is.
"Corrupt individuals exploited system loopholes, not because the technology failed, but because the human controls around it were weak.
"In the rush to digitalise, many forget that machines do not make ethical decisions, people do. We cannot rely on technology alone to prevent abuse. We need oversight, we need regulation, and above all, we need integrity,' he stressed.
To mitigate risks, Azam proposed a modern anti-corruption strategy grounded in digital integrity.
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This includes the use of blockchain forensics, AI (artificial intelligence)-driven auditing, real-time surveillance systems, and stronger collaboration between regulators, academia and enforcement agencies.
'Digital systems must not just be smart … they must be governed smartly. It is time we reform not just our tools, but our thinking,' he said.
He added that good technology must be matched with capable leadership.
'When management neglects controls, digital platforms can be hijacked. Whether it's social aid being redirected to ghost recipients or ESG (environmental, social and governance) claims manipulated with falsified data, the result is the same: fraud thrives where governance fails," he said.
He encouraged participants, who included academics, researchers and industry professionals, to be active in promoting responsible digital development.
'Let this conference spark new collaborations to advance not only technology, but the values that guide it,' he said.
ICTMS 2025, organised by Universiti Teknology Mara's (UiTM) Accounting Research Institute (ARI), focuses on the intersection of technology, ethics and sustainability.