DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has urged the Government to carry out a “full investigation” into former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz and others who were implicated in the latest revelations related to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
The Bagan MP said this in light of former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner’s revelation to a US court that BNM had approved an “overnight” foreign exchange transfer of US$1 bil from 1MDB to PetroSaudi International (PSI) after Zeti’s husband Datuk Tawfiq Ayman had allegedly been bribed to “make it happen”.
For the record, Tawfiq had denied knowing Leissner or Roger Ng, Goldman’s former head of investment banking in Malaysia and said that he had never communicated with either one of them.
He also said that he had never received any bribes from anyone and told news portal Malaysiakini that he will seek legal advice on the next course of action to be taken on statements made against him.
“I think we should let a full investigation be carried out, not just on Zeti but also on the other expose, including the use of 1MDB money to buy a US$10 mil mansion in London to resolve an apparent personal affair with a Malaysian woman,” Lim was reported as saying by Free Malaysia Today at a press conference on Friday (Feb 25).
“That should be investigated along with other claims. It’s disgraceful behaviour for a foreigner to use our money to resolve his personal matter with a lady,” he added.
In response to Leissner’s testimony, BNM said on Thursday (Feb 24) that all investments abroad by resident entities are subject to the requirement under the Exchange Control Act (ECA) 1953 that was in force prior to 2013, which has since been replaced by the Financial Services Act (FSA) 2013.
According to the central bank, all submissions made by 1MDB – including the said application – were subject to the same approval criteria and internal governance process that apply to any submission by other entities to BNM. – Feb 25, 2022
