Bank Negara Malaysia imposes RM340,000 penalty on Alipay Malaysia for sanctions screening and reporting failures

Bank Negara Malaysia imposed an administrative monetary penalty of RM340,000 on Alipay Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (now known as AIMY Merchant Services Sdn. Bhd.) for non-compliance with sanctions screening obligations under the Financial Services Act 2013 and the AML/CFT and targeted financial sanctions policy requirements. Bank Negara Malaysia found that Alipay failed to update its internal sanctions database following changes to Malaysia’s Domestic List published in the Gazette, which affected customer screening and led to delays in freezing a customer’s account and reporting to the central bank after transactions were conducted by a customer identified as a specified entity on the Domestic List. The breaches were identified after Alipay reported several transactions by the customer. In setting the penalty, Bank Negara Malaysia cited the seriousness of the breaches, a lack of reasonable care, Alipay’s first non-compliance of this nature, and remedial steps taken; Alipay has revised its policies and processes to ensure timely database updates, screening, freezing and reporting. The penalty was imposed on 19 June 2025 and paid on 3 July 2025.