ALL EYES ON BANKS RESPONSE TO ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MALAYSIAN PM?

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Attention has turned to Malaysia's central bank and a domestic bank to confirm or deny that large sums of cash were wired to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal accounts.

This followed claims in a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report last Friday that Datuk Seri Najib received up to US$700 million (S$940 million) in various personal accounts in AmBank between March 2013 and February this year.

Malaysia's central bank, Bank Negara, a well-regarded regulator in international banking circles, would normally be alerted to large transfers in domestic accounts, especially ones such as the alleged deposit via a Singapore-based Swiss bank of US$620 million in March 2013.

AmBank is Malaysia's fifth-biggest bank by assets.

Umno's Kuala Lumpur lawmaker Johari Abdul Ghani told the Mingguan Malaysia newspaper yesterday.
"If the two banks remain silent, it will not reduce public perception (of wrongdoing)", he said.

Source: Asia One