Respond to report on Zeti’s 1MDB links, anti-graft group tells BNM

(FMT) – An anti-graft group has asked Bank Negara Malaysia to respond to a report that Singapore police had informed it of suspicious transactions involving a company owned by the husband and son of former governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz with the funds coming from accounts linked to fugitive financier Low Taek Jho.

The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) said silence by BNM “threatens the integrity of the country’s central bank”.

The Edge had reported that according to documents it had sighted, Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department had informed BNM in 2015 and 2016 that a company with ties to Zeti’s husband, Dr Tawfiq Ayman, and a son had received a total of US$16.22 million (RM65.78 million) from Low, also known as Jho Low, in 2008 and 2009.

“If there is any truth to the matter, the integrity of BNM as a whole would be seen as fully compromised,” C4 Center said in a statement today.

“This information must be confirmed urgently by the authorities. Silence will only lead to more questions and speculations about the matter, further weakening any trust the people have left in our institutions and authorities.”

It also asked whether Zeti, who was governor until 2016, was aware of the alleged transactions or the reports from the CAD.

The group called on those involved to come forward and share what they know, “as these reports widen existing trust deficits between the people and the country’s institutions”.