MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS ACT 2002

LAWS OF MALAYSIA ONLINE VERSION OF UPDATED TEXT OF REPRINT Act 621 MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS ACT 2002 As at 1 September 2024 This text is ONLY AN UPDATED TEXT of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 2002 by the Attorney General’s Chambers. Unless and until reprinted pursuant to the powers of the Commissioner of Law Revision under subsection 14(1) of the Revision of Laws Act 1968 [Act 1], this text is NOT AN AUTHENTIC TEXT. 2 MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS ACT 2002 Date of Royal Assent … … … 14 May 2002 Date of publication in the Gazette … … … 30 May 2002 English text to be authoritative … … … P.U. (B) 173/2002 Latest amendment made by Act A1709 which came into operation on … … … 1 September 2024 PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint Second Reprint … … … … … … … … … … 2004 2006 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 621 MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS ACT 2002 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title and commencement 2. Interpretation 3. Object of Act 4. Act does not limit cooperation with international organizations, etc. 5. Act not authority for extradition of person PART II REQUEST BY MALAYSIA 6. Application of this Part 7. Request to be made by or through Attorney General 8. Request for taking of evidence, etc. 9. Request for attendance of person in Malaysia 10. Penalty not to be imposed for refusal to consent 11. Immunities and privileges 12. Limitation on use of statement 13. Request for enforcement of forfeiture order 14. Assistance in locating or identifying persons 15. Assistance in service of process 4 Laws of Malaysia ACT 621 PART III REQUEST TO MALAYSIA Section 16. Application of this Part 17. Prescribed foreign State 18. Special direction of Minister 19. Request to be made to Attorney General 20. Refusal of assistance 21. Exceptions to political offences 22. Taking of evidence for criminal proceedings 23. Production order for criminal matters 24. Supplementary provisions regarding production order 25. Immunities in compliance of production order 26. Failure to comply with production order 27. Request for attendance of person in prescribed foreign State 28. Request for attendance of prisoner or person under detention 29. Custody of person in transit 30. Escape from custody while in transit 31. Request for enforcement of foreign forfeiture order 32. Registration of foreign forfeiture order 33. Proof of orders, etc., of prescribed foreign State 34. Evidence in relation to proceedings and orders in prescribed foreign State 35. Request for search and seizure 36. Search warrant 37. Additional powers of person executing search warrant, etc. 38. Immunities in compliance of search warrant 39. Assistance in locating or identifying person 40. Assistance in service of process 41. Penalty not to be imposed for failure to comply with summons Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters PART IV MISCELLANEOUS Section 41A. Application of other written laws 42. Authentication of documents 43. Delegation 44. Regulations 5 7 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 621 MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS ACT 2002 An Act to make provision for mutual assistance in criminal matters between Malaysia and other countries and for matters connected therewith. [1 May 2003, P.U. (B) 168/2003] ENACTED by the Parliament of Malaysia as follows: PART I PRELIMINARY Short title and commencement 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 2002. (2) This Act comes into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “Bank” means the Central Bank of Malaysia established by the Central Bank of Malaysia Act 1958 [Act 519]; “material” includes any book, document or other record in any form, and any container or article relating to it; 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 621 “thing” includes material; “items subject to legal privilege” means— (a) communications between an advocate and solicitor and his client or any person representing his client made in connection with the giving of legal advice to the client; (b) communications between an advocate and solicitor and his client or any person representing his client, or between such an advocate and solicitor or his client or any such representative and any other person, made in connection with, or in contemplation of, judicial proceedings and for the purposes of such proceedings; and (c) items enclosed with or referred to in such communications and made— (i) in connection with the giving of legal advice; or (ii) in connection with or in contemplation of judicial proceedings and for the purposes of such proceedings, when they are in the possession of a person who is entitled to possession of them, but excluding, in any case, any communications or thing held with the intention of furthering a criminal purpose; “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this Act, and a power to prescribe includes the power to make different provisions in the regulations for different persons or classes of persons; “property” means movable or immovable property of every description, whether situated in or outside Malaysia and whether tangible or intangible and includes an interest in any such movable or immovable property; “proceeds of crime” means any property suspected, or found by a court, to be property directly or indirectly derived or realized as a result of the commission of an offence or to represent the value of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters 9 property and other benefits derived from the commission of an offence; “financial institution” means— (a) a licensed bank, licensed insurer and licensed investment bank under the Financial Services Act 2013 [Act 758]; (b) a licensed international Islamic bank, licensed international takaful operator, licensed Islamic bank and licensed takaful operator under the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 [Act 759]; (c) a prescribed institution under the Development Financial Institutions Act 2002 [Act 618]; (d) a licensee under the Money Services Business Act 2011 [Act 731]; (e) a person licensed or registered under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 [Act 671]; (f) a central depository under the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 [Act 453]; (g) a bank licensee, an insurance licensee, a securities licensee and any licensed entity under the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010 [Act 704]; and (h) an Islamic bank licensee, a takaful licensee, an Islamic securities licensee and any licensed entity under the Labuan Islamic Financial Services and Securities Act 2010 [Act 705]; “serious offence” means— (a) an offence against the laws of Malaysia in respect of which the punishment provided by the law is imprisonment for a period of at least one year, or a more severe punishment; or 10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 621 (b) any attempt, abetment or conspiracy to commit any of the offences referred to in paragraph (a); “foreign serious offence” means an offence— (a) against the laws of a prescribed foreign State in respect of which the punishment provided by the law is imprisonment for a period of at least one year, or a more severe punishment; and (b) that consists of or includes activity which, if it had occurred in Malaysia, would have constituted a serious offence; “Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for legal affairs; “foreign State” means any country or territory outside Malaysia; “prescribed foreign State” means a foreign State declared by the Minister, by an order made under subsection 17(1), as a prescribed foreign State or a foreign State in respect of which the Minister has issued a special direction under section 18, as the case may be; “authorized officer” means— (a) any police officer; (b) any customs officer; (c) any immigration officer; (d) any officer of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission; and (e) any officer authorized by the Attorney General; “criminal investigation” means an investigation— (a) into a serious offence or a foreign serious offence, as the case may be; or Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters 11 (b) for the purposes of an ancillary criminal matter; “foreign law immunity certificate” means a certificate given, or a declaration made, by a prescribed foreign State or under the law of a prescribed foreign State, certifying or declaring that, under the law of that prescribed foreign State, persons generally or a specified person could or could not, either generally or in specified proceedings and either generally or in specified circumstances, be required— (a) to answer a specified question; or (b) to produce a specified thing; “instrumentalities” means— (a) any thing which is used in, or in connection with, the commission of any serious offence or foreign serious offence; or (b) any property which is wholly or partly used in, or in connection with, the commission of any serious offence or foreign serious offence, whether the thing or property is situated within or outside Malaysia; “order” includes a decree, direction or judgment, or any part of it, howsoever described; “forfeiture order” means an order made in Malaysia for the forfeiture of property or instrumentalities in respect of a serious offence; “foreign forfeiture order” means an order made by a court in a prescribed foreign State for the recovery, forfeiture or confiscation of— (a) payments or other rewards received in connection with an offence against the law of that prescribed foreign State that is a foreign serious offence, or the value of such payments or rewards; 12 Laws of Malaysia ACT 621 (b) property derived or realized, directly or indirectly, from payments or other rewards received in connection with such an offence, or the value of such property; or (c) instrumentalities or the value of such instrumentalities; “criminal matter” means, in respect of a serious offence or a foreign serious offence, as the case may be— (a) a criminal investigation; (b) criminal proceedings; or (c) an ancillary criminal matter; “ancillary criminal matter” means— (a) the restraining of dealing with, or the seizure, forfeiture or confiscation of, property or instrumentalities in connection with a serious offence or a foreign serious offence, as the case may be; or (b) the obtaining, enforcement or satisfaction of a forfeiture order or a foreign forfeiture order, as the case may be; “appropriate authority”, in relation to a foreign State, means a person or authority whom the Attorney General is satisfied is authorized under the law of that foreign State— (a) in the case of a request by that foreign State to Malaysia for assistance in a criminal matter, to make the request; or (b) in the case of a request by Malaysia to that foreign State for assistance in a criminal matter, to receive the request; “premises” includes— (a) a structure (whether or not movable or offshore), building, tent, vehicle, vessel, hovercraft or aircraft; Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters 13 (b) a place (whether or not enclosed or built upon); and (c) part of any premises (including premises of a kind referred to in paragraph (a) or (b)); “criminal proceedings” means a trial of a person for a serious offence or a foreign serious offence, as the case may be, and includes any proceeding to determine whether a particular person should be tried for the offence; “process” includes any summons, warrant, order or other document in respect of a criminal matter that is issued, as the case may be— (a) by any court in Malaysia or by any Judge, Sessions Court Judge or Magistrate or by the Registrar or a Deputy Registrar or a Senior Assistant Registrar of a High Court or by a Registrar of a Subordinate Court; or (b) by any court of a foreign State or by any judge, magistrate or officer of such a court; “dealing”, in relation to any prop