{
  "id": 12320455,
  "title": "BNM governor warns of AI-assisted financial crime",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/bnm-governor-warns-of-ai-assisted-financial-crime",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-06T05:42:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/06/bnm-governor-warns-of-ai-assisted-financial-crime"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bank Negara Malaysia's Governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour has cautioned that artificial intelligence is enabling criminals to commit increasingly sophisticated financial crimes. Over the past five years, authorities have recovered more than RM37 billion in assets, according to Rasheed. He noted that about 95% of online fraud cases involve victims who are duped into transferring funds. Interpol estimates that AI-enabled fraud is four and a half times more lucrative than conventional methods. By facilitating social engineering and manipulation, AI is making it easier for criminals to deceive victims, Rasheed explained. The situation has created an \"arms race\" between criminals and authorities, according to Rasheed. To keep up, the financial sector must automate detection alongside criminals' use of automation, he said. At a conference on financial crime prevention, Rasheed highlighted that the sector has thwarted fraudulent transactions worth RM1.9 billion in the first half of this year alone, exceeding the RM1.2 billion prevented in all of 2025. He also emphasized that over RM37 billion in assets have been recovered in the past five years, with complex financial crime cases investigated and prosecuted alongside multiple agencies. Rasheed attributed Malaysia's progress in combating financial crime over the past 25 years to robust laws, institutions, and a deeper understanding of risk and supervisory approaches. He cited several law amendments and enhancements to key legislation as bolstering the nation's capacity for investigations, prosecutions, and asset recovery. Additionally, Rasheed highlighted the establishment of coordination platforms like the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, National Scam Response Centre, Multi-Agency Task Force, National Fraud Portal, and MyFINet. With more than 27,000 financial and non-financial reporting institutions supported by technology-enabled supervision, Rasheed emphasized that Malaysia's collective response to financial crime is strengthened, underlining that no single institution can combat these threats alone.",
  "summary": "Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour says criminals are using AI to automate fraud, identify vulnerabilities and amplify cyberattacks.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "BNM governor warns of AI-assisted financial crime",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/bnm-governor-warns-of-ai-assisted-financial-crime-12321576",
        "published": "2026-10-06T05:42:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}