Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying emphasized that banking and financial institutions must strictly adhere to established standard operating procedures (SOPs) when addressing customer complaints about illegally withdrawn money. Lim highlighted that the Ministry of Finance has received numerous reports of bank officials failing to take appropriate action or investigate unauthorized withdrawals from customers' accounts.

Although such cases are relatively few and under control, the ministry will investigate each incident individually. Lim made these comments while launching the Trace and Recovery Operation (TRO) 2.0 (Declaration Without Payment) Series 2/2024, an event also attended by the Director General of Royal Malaysian Customs, Datuk Anis Rizana Mohd Zainudin@Mohd Zainuddin.

Lim stressed the need to tighten the implementation of SOPs, noting that despite the clear guidelines in place, some banks still fail to comply. She reiterated that banks must investigate complaints of illegal withdrawals thoroughly. If it is proven that the unauthorized transaction was not due to the customer's negligence and all procedures were correctly followed, the bank must take responsibility.

She advised bank account holders to regularly monitor their accounts. If customers are dissatisfied with the bank's investigation results, they can escalate their complaints to the Ombudsman for Financial Services (OFS) or directly to Bank Negara Malaysia.