A Malaysian Court has set a world record in money laundering law by sentencing a business executive to a term of imprisonment of 1,942 years for laundering proceeds of crime.
Lim Long Yew, the CEO of Asia Ceramic Marketing Sdn Bhd, was convicted of accepting and holding proceeds of crime in the corporate bank account over a twelve month period. He was charged with close to 500 criminal counts and sentenced for each count, hence the long prison sentence.
However, the Malaysian Court ruled that the defendant could serve his sentences concurrently which will reduce the time to close to ten years.
The 1,942 year jail sentence is the longest ever meted out for any financial crime or money laundering conviction in the world and is a cautionary alert for North American and EU businesses engaging in business in Malaysia.