Also on Thursday, the country’s attorney general defended the government and said it had studied the central bank’s investigation report into state investor 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and found no wrongdoing by the fund officials, the Associated Press reported.
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“The process will involve schedules that will require us to restructure to rationalise 1MDB, its accountability as well as the investigation aspect to ensure that any party who has broken the law will be brought to justice”, he said, adding that what the Rulers had said was what ministers had been advised at cabinet level and by the Prime Minister himself.
1MDB has been the subject of overlapping investigations amid allegations of financial irregularities.
The 1MDB crisis landed Najib in hot water especially after documents leaked in July showed he received a few $700 million in his private accounts from entities linked to the fund.
Najib fired Malaysia’s longtime attorney general in July amid speculation that he was preparing criminal charges against the premier, replacing him with his own appointee.
Najib Razak chairs its advisory board and has resisted calls from ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad to step down over the fund’s performance as it amassed about 42 billion ringgit ($10.1 billion) of debt in less than five years.
The central bank didn’t specify which 1MDB transactions allegedly broke Malaysian foreign-exchange laws.
“The findings of the investigation must be reported comprehensively and in a transparent manner so that the people will be convinced of the sincerity of the government, which shall not at all hide facts and the truth”, said the statement, which was released Tuesday and circulated by Bernama, the national news agency.
Separate investigations by the police and the anti-corruption agency were not yet completed as statements of a few key witnesses have not been recorded, it said in a statement.
“No further action would be taken in the matter”, it said.
Malaysia’s next elections are not until 2018.
Regulators in the United States and elsewhere are now reportedly scrutinizing the affair, with authorities in Switzerland and Singapore saying they had frozen a few accounts as they probe possible money-laundering and other crimes.
Najib’s political allies say the huge deposits into his personal accounts were “political donations” from unspecified Middle Eastern sources, but no details have been provided.
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Amid this tumult, Najib appeared to be down for the count, but not out, and a few now believe his opponents may regret a missed opportunity.
