KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia says its officers involved in the acquisition of land on Lot 41, beside the Sasana Kijang complex here for RM2 billion have taken a leave of absence.
The central bank said a review by an independent party in relation to the acquisition was ongoing.
“To facilitate the internal review, relevant officers of Bank Negara have opted to take a leave of absence,” it said in a brief statement.
Bank Negara commissioned the review in August this year.
This came in after claims that the government was raiding Bank Negara’s coffers to bail out troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
A daily news report said that the issues were the pricing and speed in which the transaction was completed.
“The RM2 billion 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,” it said.
The money was transferred to the federal government before the full transaction was completed, it added.
Former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim resigned from his post in June this year.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, meanwhile, said “somebody” in Bank Negara was aware of what happened to the proceeds of Bank Negara’s land purchase from the Finance Ministry.
“I only know that the land was sold to Bank Negara for RM2 billion. What happens after that I don’t know. Where the money goes, I don’t know.
“But obviously somebody in Bank Negara knows about it. They are investigating. That’s all,” he said.