Bank Negara Malaysia imposed a RM520,000 fine on AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd on June 24, 2026, after a supervisory examination found the company had onboarded a customer listed under Malaysia’s sanctions registry and delayed freezing the account once the match was confirmed. The penalty highlights continued regulatory scrutiny of sanctions-screening practices among non-bank financial institutions in Malaysia.
Key Facts At A Glance
- Penalty: RM520,000 administrative monetary penalty (AMP)
- Imposed by: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)
- Company: AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd, a unit of Japan’s AEON Co
- Date of penalty: April 6, 2026; disclosed by BNM on June 24, 2026
- Date paid: April 16, 2026
- Breach: Onboarding of a customer listed under Malaysia’s Domestic List of sanctioned entities, and delayed freezing of the account after the match was confirmed
- Relevant legal basis: Requirements under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA)
- Stated cause: Lack of staff oversight and a gap in AEON Credit’s standard operating procedure
- Remedial action: AEON Credit has enhanced its SOP and conducted refresher training for relevant staff
Bank Negara Malaysia disclosed on June 24 that it had fined AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd RM520,000 for failing to comply with targeted financial sanctions (TFS) requirements. The penalty followed an on-site supervisory examination that found a specified entity listed under Malaysia’s Domestic List had been onboarded as a customer of the company. The Domestic List consists of names and particulars of entities declared by the Home Affairs Minister under section 66B(1) of AMLA.
According to the central bank, AEON Credit failed to reject the customer despite a positive match against the sanctions list, a step required of all reporting institutions under Malaysian law. The company also delayed freezing the customer’s account after confirming the individual’s status as a specified entity, a lapse BNM said exposed the financial system to potential misuse for terrorism financing.
BNM attributed the breaches to a lack of staff oversight and a gap in AEON Credit’s standard operating procedure. In determining the size of the penalty, the regulator said it weighed several factors, including the severity of the breaches, the company’s degree of care in ensuring compliance, its past compliance record, and the effectiveness of remedial steps taken after the lapse was identified.
AEON Credit has since strengthened its internal procedures and conducted refresher training for relevant staff to reinforce compliance with sanctions screening obligations, the central bank said. The company paid the fine on April 16, ahead of BNM’s public disclosure of the matter in June. AEON Credit shares were largely unaffected by the announcement, trading marginally higher at RM5.88, valuing the company at roughly RM3 billion.
BNM reiterated that all reporting institutions are required to comply with targeted financial sanctions obligations and warned it would not hesitate to take further supervisory or enforcement action against institutions that fail to meet their legal and regulatory responsibilities. The case adds to a pattern of enforcement actions BNM has taken against financial institutions over anti-money laundering and sanctions-related compliance gaps.