Saturday 16 / November / 2024
Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian prime minister's brother, Nazir Razak, announced on Monday that he was taking voluntary leave of absence from his role as chairman of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd amid an independent review into money transfers to his personal account.
Nazir was dragged into a scandal around political funding and alleged misuse of money from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) after the Wall Street Journal reported last month that he received $7 million in funds from his elder brother, Prime Minister Najib Razak, before the 2013 elections.
"Nothing I did was illegal or compromised my position at CIMB, but given the media attention, I understand that it makes the stakeholders uncomfortable. So, I want to make sure that the institution does the right thing in dealing with this," Nazir told a news conference after the bank's annual general meeting, explaining his decision to take leave.
Nazir, a leading Malaysian corporate figure, had said earlier that he believed the money came from legitimate fund-raising, and said that CIMB bank staff disbursed the funds to ruling-party politicians on the instructions of his brother.
At Monday's news conference, the banker spoke of Najib's request for assistance, and said it was the first and last time he had been asked for such help.
"My brother asked for some help and I agreed after I assessed that it would not involve anything illegal or misuse of my position at CIMB, or any inappropriate use of CIMB's resources," Nazir told a news conference after the bank's annual general meeting. "I acted based on what I knew at that time and of course, given all the controversy surrounding 1MDB and sources of political funding since 2014, I regret it," he added.
The CIMB board has accepted Nazir's decision to go on leave. The bank has engaged Ernst & Young to assist in the reviews.
Najib has stonewalled repeated calls to step down as prime minister since reports last year that a $681-million deposit into his account was linked to 1MDB.
Transactions involving 1MDB, which had a debt of over $11 billion, are being investigated in several countries, including the United States and Switzerland.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing, saying that he had not accepted money from any state entity for personal gain.
A government-appointed attorney-general this year cleared Najib of any criminal offence or corruption, saying the funds were a political donation from the royal family of Saudi Arabia.
Last week, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said the donations were "genuine". Such donations are not considered illegal in Malaysia.
CIMB shares were down 2 per cent by 0615 GMT, while the benchmark index was down 0.8 per cent. In an interview with Reuters last year, Nazir said political uncertainty facing the government led by his elder brother is the biggest concern for foreign investors. Nazir's decision to go on leave will benefit corporate governance and transparency, said Tony Fernandes, founder of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia.
"Class act by Chairman of CIMB Nazir Razak," Fernandes said in a posting on social media website Instagram. "Voluntarily has taken leave from today to allow an independent investigation into the $7 million transfer."
