Four Bank Negara officers on leave pending RM2bil land purchase probe (Update)

FILE PHOTO: A general view of the headquarters of Malaysia's central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur January 29, 2013. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad/File Photo

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia has confirmed that officers involved in the January purchase of land valued at RM2bil have gone on leave.

In a two-paragraph statement issued on Wednesday, the central bank said it had in August this year commissioned a review by an independent party in relation to the purchase of the land on Lot 41. 

“The review is still ongoing. To facilitate the review, relevant officers of BNM have opted to take a leave of absence,” it said.

StarBiz reported earlier on Wednesday that four officials have gone on leave pending investigations into the land purchase.

The four were opted for the leave as the authorities conducted an internal probe into how the sale was concluded. 

In June this year, former Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim resigned from his post over the controversy.

The controversy over the sale of land came about because the proceeds were alleged to have been used to settle some of the liabilities of debt-laden 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

The issues were the pricing and speed in which the transaction was completed. The RM2bil price tag is what the land would have cost if the purchase was for commercial reasons.

However, in Bank Negara's case the purchase was not for commercial reasons hence the contention was the price should have been lower.

Also, the money was transferred to the Federal Government before the full transaction was completed.