The amended laws, allow police to block suspicious transactions in any bank or financial institution in a bid to stop scammers from withdrawing stolen money from mule accounts.

Kula told the Dewan Rakyat that police can act if they have “reasonable suspicion” of a crime, believe the funds are linked to criminal activity, or need the funds as evidence.

“These amendments allow police officers of at least the rank of sergeant to seize or prohibit transactions involving funds suspected to be tied to criminal activities,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.

“This allows police not only to seize funds, but also to prevent them from being withdrawn by scammers from these mule accounts.”

The amendments were passed by the Dewan Negara in July, approved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in September, and came into force on Oct 30.

Kula said the National Scam Response Centre reported 52,836 scam-related calls between October 2022 and September this year, with losses totalling RM302.1 million.

“These measures will bolster our ability to protect victims and clamp down on financial crimes that have caused significant harm,” he said.

He was responding to Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong), who had asked about new laws to temporarily block transactions believed to be carried out by scammers.