Zeti denies knowledge of Najib's RM2.6b transaction

PETALING JAYA: Former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz (pix) has refuted claims that she had knowledge of the inflow of RM2.6 billion into the personal bank account of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak in 2013.
"I refer to Najib's recent interview with MalaysiaKini dated 2 July 2018 when reference was made on the claim that I had knowledge of the inflow of RM2.6 billion into his personal bank account in 2013. I wish to categorically state that this claim is false. I had no knowledge of this RM2.6 billion remitted into his account," she said today.
She also revealed that on July 3, 2015, she was called to the Prime Minister's office where Najib and a cabinet minister made a request for her to issue a statement that he had done nothing wrong with regards to the RM2.6b.
"I informed Najib that I cannot issue such a statement because I did not have knowledge of transactions that had occurred in his account," she added.
Zeti added that on the matter relating to transactions by account holders in the banking system, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) relies on information provided by the reporting financial institutions.
"The banking community is fully aware of the regulations and guidelines governing the reporting of any suspicious transactions and for the necessary due diligence on the operations of any such accounts. Unless the relevant banking institution reports to BNM of irregularities in an account or if BNM received a tip off that gives a reason to believe that an offence has occurred, the Central Bank is not able to initiate investigation into the account," she said.
Last week Najib, who was arrested today in relation to investigations into SRC International Sdn Bhd, had said that Zeti and Bank Negara were aware of the RM2.6 billion going into his account in March 2013.
The money allegedly came from the scandal-riddled 1Malaysia Development Fund (1MDB). SRC International used to be a subsidiary of 1MDB before it was taken over by the Ministry of Finance, at a time when Najib was also Finance Minister.