Exploring the Shortcomings and Blockchain Potential of Estate Distribution in Malaysia: Fraud and Forgery Risks

Estate distribution in Malaysia plays a crucial role in ensuring a fair wealth transfer to beneficiaries. However, deficiencies in the existing system and concerns about fraud and forgery in this process have raised doubts about its reliability and deftness. This paper aims to investigate the prevalence, types, contributing factors, and legal implications of fraud and forgery in estate distribution in Malaysia. Additionally, it explores the potential of blockchain as a secure solution to mitigate these illicit practices. This extensive review employs a comprehensive search strategy to identify relevant studies from various databases – legal journals, academic repositories, and government publications where it focuses on studies that examine fraud and forgery in the estate distribution process in Malaysia, as well as the utilization of blockchain in estate administration. Findings reveal various forms of fraud and forgery prevalent in estate distribution in Malaysia – document manipulation, unauthorized asset transfers, and coercion of testators which are ascribed to weak authentication processes, lack of transparency, and complexities in traditional record-keeping systems. While Malaysia has legal frameworks in place to address fraud and forgery, they may not fully prevent or detect such activities. Therefore, this review emphasizes on the importance of exploring blockchain to enhance estate distribution security in Malaysia as implementing blockchain-based solutions can significantly reduce opportunities for fraud and forgery, foster transparency, and strengthen trust among stakeholders. Ultimately, the findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and legal professionals experts to design and implement effective strategies that leverage blockchain's security features. Henceforth, future research should focus on practical implementation, evaluating the efficacy of blockchain solutions, and addressing any legal and regulatory barriers to adoption.

Fraud, Forgery, Estate Distribution, Security, Blockchain

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