Malaysia central bank fines AEON Credit for sanctions breaches

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 : Malaysia's central bank said on Wednesday that it has fined AEON Credit Service (M) Berhad 520,000 ringgit ($125,665) for breaches of targeted financial sanctions.

AEON Credit, a Malaysian unit of Japan's Aeon Co, has since taken remedial measures and conducted refresher training for relevant staff to ensure compliance, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said in a statement.

• AEON Credit had allowed a sanctioned entity to open an account with the company, BNM said, without naming the entity.

• The firm also delayed freezing the account despite confirmation that the customer was on a domestic sanctions list, BNM added.

• "These breaches were attributed to lack of staff oversight and (a) gap in AEON Credit’s standard operating procedure," the central bank said.

• It said AEON Credit paid the fine on April 16.

($1 = 4.1380 ringgit)