DEPUTY Home Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said today the police had conducted a total of 734 operations since the start of the year to curb illegal money-lending activities and syndicates.

Through the operation codenamed “Ops Vulture”, carried out by the Commercial Crimes Investigation Department from January till August this year, 898 individuals had been arrested, resulting in 196 being charged in court, he said.

Shamsul said they were charged for offences under Section 5(2) of the Moneylenders Act 1951 and Section 29AA of the Money Lending Act 1951. 

“The focus of this operation is to comprehensively crack down on syndicates who are involved in unlicensed moneylending, such as debt collection activities, leaflet and pamphlet distribution, (preparing) loan posters or banners related to promotions or money-lending advertisements,” the Lenggong lawmaker told Dewan Rakyat today. 

He was responding to Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh’s [Besut-PN] question on the government’s efforts to address violent acts carried out by unlicensed moneylenders.

Shamsul said a total of 1,000 cases were reported in 2021, which saw 1,067 individuals being arrested while in 2022, a total of 1,262 individuals were arrested from 1,009 reported cases.

He added that illegal and unlicensed money-lending activities are still prevalent in the country.

“(This is because) the offers from Ah Long (illegal money lenders) are easier (to obtain) and more convenient than those offered by licensed banking and financial institutions,” he said.  

Shamsul said the ministry, through the police and other relevant authorities, was working hard to tackle the problem.  

“We have asked the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to take down unlicensed loan advertisements on the Internet as well as on social media. 

“We are also tracking the Ah Longs through several sources, including the phone numbers listed on the advertisements, while having mutual cooperation with telecommunications companies and the MCMC in terms of locating the suspects,” he said. – October 11, 2023.