I have never received bribes in my life, says Tawfiq Ayman

PETALING JAYA: Former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz's husband Datuk Tawfiq Ayman has dismissed the testimony of Tim Leissner as totally untrue.

Expressing his shock over the former Goldman Sachs banker testimony in New York Districf Court, Tawfiq said he neither knew Leissner nor Roger Ng or communicated with them.

"I wish to categorically state that throughout my life, I have never received any bribes from anyone," online portal Malaysiakini quoted him as saying.

Tawfiq said in view of the ongoing proceedings in New York, he has been advised not comment further which could be sub judice and will be seeking legal advice on the next course of action.

Ng, 49, Goldman's former head of investment banking in Malaysia, is charged with conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-bribery law, while Leissner is the star witness in the ongoing case.

Leissner claimed that Ng, a Malaysian, had told him about the bribery involved in Bank Negara's "unprecedented" approval for the transfer of US$1bil (RM4.18bil) in funds to PetroSaudi International.

However, he could not independently verify if it was true.

Leissner mentioned this when asked by prosecutors on his dealings with the PetroSaudi-1MDB joint venture project.

"In 2009 there were still capital controls in place and a billion dollars was wired overnight to the joint-venture because the husband of the then governor had received a bribe," said Leissner.

"So overnight that money was transferred which was unprecedented at that time as no approval was obtained that quickly from Bank Negara," he said.

It was reported on Jan 24 that Tawfiq and former minister in the prime minister's department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop were being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over 1MDB funds.

In response to Leissner's testimony, Bank Negara on Thursday (Feb 24) said that all investments abroad by resident entities are subject to the requirements under the Exchange Control Act (ECA) 1953 which was in force until 2013 and replaced by the Financial Services Act 2013.