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Amid silence on RM2.6 billion donation, Bank Negara says it can only pass on information

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) passes on information about money laundering transactions to other agencies to investigate, according to its powers by law, deputy governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said as the central bank comes under fire for silence over its role in probing into billions that went to the prime minister's personal accounts. Without specifically referring to the RM 2.6 billion that was transferred to Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Nor Shamsiah said it was up to other agencies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate if there was any element of wrongdoing in the transactions BNM detected. "BNM only administers two laws under our jurisdiction, the Financial Services Act and the Islamic Financial Services Act. "On other matters our responsibility is to disseminate information to the responsible authority," she said at the 16th International Anti Corruption Conference (IACC) in Putrajaya today. Nor Shamsiah was responding to claims that BNM had been quiet about the RM2.6 billion transferred to Najib's accounts, which had come from a foreign source. The central bank had been part of a special task force probing into the transfer of funds after The Wall Street Journal reported the matter in early July. Questions had been raised as to whether BNM knew about the large sums transferred, of which the biggest – US$681 million – was deposited into Najib's accounts in March 2013, ahead of the general election in May that year, and whether any red flags were raised. MACC has since confirmed the transfer of funds as a donation from a Middle Eastern source. During a dialogue session at the conference today, Nor Shamsiah was asked whether BNM was worried that its reputation would be tarnished for not taking action on the RM2.6 billion funds transfer. In reply, she said that BNM would continue to monitor all financial institutions in the country to ensure that they adhered to anti-money laundering laws and that they vetted transactions which looked risky. Three years ago, BNM had fined banks a total RM10 million for lapses on their risk monitoring, she said, without specifying which institutions were involved. She said that an Asia Pacific group that assesses countries' performance on fighting money laundering has also given the thumbs up to Malaysia. "Their assessment of us has found that our level of effectiveness is substantial." – September 3, 2015.