Nazir Razak to engage with MACC to help resolve recovery of 1MDB funds

PETALING JAYA: Dato Seri Nazir Razak says he intends to engage with the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) to resolve the recovery of 1MDB funds.

The brother of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he fully respects the work that MACC is doing to recover 1MDB funds, and that he would assist them as best as he could.

He said that he previously confirmed that Najib transferred a total of RM25.7mil to an account in his name in 2013.

"The funds were subsequently disbursed in cash and in full to Najib’s representatives for what I understood were election campaign purposes – not a sen was retained or used by me.

"I acted in good faith in order to oblige my brother’s request for assistance in the GE13 campaign, and back then, I was informed that the funds originated from legitimate political fund-raising and had no reason to think otherwise," he said in a statement on Tuesday (Oct 8).

He said that when the alleged links between 1MDB and Najib’s fund transfer surfaced in the media in April 2016, he took voluntary leave from his positions at CIMB in order for the boards of CIMB Group and CIMB Bank to conduct a full review of what transpired.

He said they engaged the help of an accounting firm and a legal firm, and he was subsequently cleared and invited back to the board.

"I have been a vocal and frequent critic of 1MDB, and the idea that the funds that flowed through the account may have originated from 1MDB has been gut wrenching for me," he said.

The MACC said they were seeking to recover RM420mil from 80 individuals and entities which received money from 1MDB.