The merger of the Kootu Funds (Prohibition) Act 1971 and Direct Selling Act 1993 under the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001 will give the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry more "teeth" to freeze assets earned illegally, said its minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

NONE "Previously, offenders could only be jailed or fined but now their assets also can be frozen," he told a press conference on the forming of a special committee to fight white collar crime in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said with the move, offenders will have their assets frozen even if they absconded or the assets were in the names of others.

So far, four companies had been hauled up for laundering illegally gained funds, with one convicted, he said.

Meanwhile, at a separate function, he said amendments to the Copyright Act 1987 were expected to be tabled in Parliament in October and that these would cover the issue of royalty payment.

Earlier, he had presented a cheque for RM160,000 as royalty payment for the works of the late P Ramlee to Surijaningsih Bakar, the widow of his late son, Nasir, and seven of his (Nasir's) children and an adopted son.

- Bernama