Frequently asked questions

Anti-money laundering (AML) name screening means checking a customer’s name against lists such as sanctions lists, to see whether the customer may be a listed person or organisation. A search returns potential matches: records with a similar name. Someone in your firm then reviews them against the customer’s other details, such as date of birth or ID number, to decide whether a potential match really is your customer.

Malaysia’s Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA) does not only cover banks. Company secretaries, accountants, lawyers, real estate agents and dealers in precious metals can be reporting institutions too, depending on the activities they carry out. Reporting institutions are expected to carry out customer due diligence, which usually includes screening a new customer’s name.

What applies to your firm depends on your business, so check the policy documents published by Bank Negara Malaysia or ask a professional adviser. This answer is general information, not legal advice.

Semak AML checks names against our screening database, which includes the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs sanctions list, the UN Security Council consolidated list, Malaysian politically exposed person (PEP) rosters for Parliament and the Cabinet, and many other international sanctions and PEP lists.

Coverage is reviewed and may change, and your firm remains responsible for checking any list it is required to check.

RM1 per name search. You buy tokens in advance (1 token = 1 name search). Pricing for larger volumes is available on request. New firms start with 10 free searches.

Yes. Start with 10 free searches. We open each firm’s account on request, and once your account is set up we add 10 free tokens, enough for 10 name searches. Request access to get started.

1 token = 1 name search. You buy tokens in advance, and each name search uses one token, including each name in a bulk spreadsheet upload. If a search fails because of a system error, the token is returned automatically.

A potential match is not a finding that your customer is a listed person. Your staff compare the details returned for each potential match with what you know about the customer, then record a review decision and notes in Semak AML. Each review is recorded under the name of the staff member who made it.

Semak AML does not make the match decision. You do. What your firm does next, such as asking the customer for more information or following your own escalation and reporting procedures, is decided under your firm’s own AML/CFT policies. Once you create the PDF report, the screening record is locked and the review and notes can no longer be changed.

• You sign in with a password and a one-time code sent by email.
• Your firm’s users, searches and reports are kept separate from every other firm’s.
• Once you create the PDF report, the screening record is locked.
• Sign-ins, searches, review decisions and report downloads are recorded in an activity log that cannot be edited.
• Card details are handled by our payment provider. We do not store card numbers.
• Our emails do not include the names you screen.

Firms using the Semak AML platform will receive separate terms and a privacy notice. Read more on our security page. This website does not set cookies and does not use analytics; see our website privacy note.

For each search you can create a dated PDF report. It includes the name searched and the details entered, the date and time of the search, the source of the results, the potential matches returned, your review decision and notes if entered, and a unique report ID. It is a standard PDF file; it is not digitally signed or password-protected.

You can download the report for 7 days after you create it. Please save a copy with your customer file and keep it for as long as your firm is required to. Semak AML is not your record-keeping system.

Yes. Your firm’s admins can download your screening history and activity log as CSV files, which open in any spreadsheet program.

No. Semak AML is an independent business and is not affiliated with Bank Negara Malaysia. Using Semak AML is not a regulatory clearance.

Semak AML is run by SEMAK AML TECH, a Malaysian business registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), registration no. 202603190265 (003871870-X). Read our story.

No. Semak AML works in your web browser. Your staff sign in, enter a name, review the potential matches and download the PDF report. See how it works.

Email us at hello@semakaml.com. Tell us your firm’s name, what it does and roughly how many names you screen each month. We reply within 1 working day, set up your account and add 10 free searches. Please do not email us personal data about your customers.