Ex-1MDB Investigator Appointed as Malaysia's Central Bank Governor -- 2nd Update
22 June 2018 - 7:26PM
Dow Jones News
By Yantoultra Ngui
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia--Malaysia named Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, a
former central-bank official involved in an investigation into
state-investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., as governor of
Bank Negara Malaysia.
The appointment Friday confirms a Wall Street Journal report
that Ms. Nor Shamsiah would replace Muhammad Ibrahim, who resigned
from the central bank earlier this month. He left following
revelations that some $500 million used to buy land from the
Finance Ministry was subsequently used to pay down 1MDB's debt
load.
Ms. Nor Shamsiah's return to the central bank follows a series
of investigations into 1MDB after former Prime Minister Najib Razak
was voted out last month in national elections and was replaced by
92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, whose opposition alliance campaigned
hard on the 1MDB scandal.
Mr. Najib launched 1MDB in 2009 to stimulate investment in
Malaysia, but it quickly racked up $8 billion in debt. U.S.
authorities allege that at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the
fund. In civil suits, the U.S. Department of Justice said $681
million was transferred into the personal accounts of Mr. Najib,
who was identified as Malaysian Official Number 1. Mr. Najib and
1MDB deny any wrongdoing.
Ms. Nor Shamsiah's five-year term begins July 1, Finance
Minister Lim Guan Eng said.
"Bank Negara Malaysia will continue to focus on delivering its
mandate of maintaining monetary and financial stability in the best
interest of the nation," Ms. Nor Shamsiah said Friday.
Ms. Nor Shamsiah joined the central bank in 1987 and was
appointed deputy governor in 2010, a position she left when her
term ended in November 2016. She was mainly involved in overseeing
the health of the banking sector.
Ms. Nor Shamsiah was involved in the central bank's inquiry into
1MDB in 2015 before her direct supervisor, Gov. Zeti Akhtar Aziz,
was replaced by Mr. Muhammad. The central bank recommended at the
time that the attorney general's office file criminal charges
against 1MDB alleging that it gave inaccurate information regarding
the investment of $1.83 billion outside the country from 2009 to
2011.
The attorney general at the time declined, saying Bank Negara
Malaysia had supplied insufficient evidence.
Nomura Research said Ms. Nor Shamsiah's appointment implies
"continuity in the direction and conduct of monetary policy,"
adding that it expects the central bank to leave the policy rate
unchanged at 3.25% for the rest of the year.
Write to Yantoultra Ngui at yantoultra.ngui@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 22, 2018 05:11 ET (09:11 GMT)
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