Nazir Razak praises Bank Negara’s response over 1MDB allegations

(The Star) – Datuk Seri Nazir Razak (pic) has praised Bank Negara Malaysia’s response to allegations that it leaked confidential information on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) money trail to the media.

“Bank Negara Malaysia remains steadfast … and will not betray the trust of the public – Great statement – timely, firm, and unambiguous,” the CIMB group chairman said in a posting on his Instagram account, quoting a portion of a BNM statement.

The post on Monday accompanied an image of the BNM headquarters located in Jalan Kuching.

In a statement on Sunday, BNM denied allegations that any of its officials were involved in leaking bank documents on 1MDB to international business daily, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

“Such allegations are without basis. In this regard, the Bank has lodged a police report. BNM remains steadfast in our quest to uncover the truth in a fair and just manner.

“In discharging its accountability, the Bank is not aligned to any faction and will not betray the trust of the public. BNM will also investigate any breaches to the laws it administers,” it said.

On July 3, WSJ alleged in a report that US$700mil (RM2.7bil) was channelled into Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s personal bank accounts prior to the 13th general election.

It subsequently released several documents online detailing the 1MDB money trail, claiming that the source of the information was from a “Malaysian government investigation”.

A special task force, which includes Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, has since been set up to investigate the matter.

Nazir, who is the younger brother of Najib, has been vocal on the 1MDB issue and has called on authorities to reveal the truth to Malaysians.

He has ordered an internal inquiry into the analysis of CIMB Islamic Bank chief executive officer Badlisyah Abdul Ghani for stating that the WSJ documents on 1MDB were “fake”.

Nazir said Badlisyah should not have commented on the documents as it was a “technical matter”.