Zeti willing to cooperate with central bank forex loss probe

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz says she is willing to cooperate with the investigation into the alleged foreign exchange (forex) trading loss of US$10bil by the central bank in the 1990s.

Zeti said the issue was never raised during her 16-year tenure as governor.

“The central bank has now in place the most rigorous risk management and governance structure to ensure something like that never happens again.

“The investigations were all completed before my time (as governor). I was with the central bank for 35 years. After that event, tremendous discipline followed,” she added.

Zeti said this after the launch of six books and a monograph on Islamic finance published by the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (Inceif ).

“It is something that happened almost 30 years ago. It is the wish of the current leadership to investigate the matter. But I cannot comment until the investigation is completed,” she added.

On Wednesday, former chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan was appointed to head a special task force to probe the forex loss.

The taskforce will also determine the actual loss and if there was any procedural and financial administration misconduct, and the extent of any subsequent cover-up.

Last month, Bank Negara’s former assistant governor Datuk Abdul Murad Khalid claimed that the central bank lost billions of dollars in the forex dealings, but there was no investigation to determine who was responsible.

Meanwhile, also present at the event yesterday were Inceif president and chief executive officer Daud Vicary Abdullah, Cagamas Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Chung Chee Leong and Khazanah Nasional Bhd executive director of finance and chief financial officer Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani.

The six books and the monograph address a wide range of topics on Islamic Finance with contributing authors from among Inceif faculty members, PhD students and alumni.

“A university is also looked at for its publications and not only for capacity building and talent development.

“After 10 years of existence, we really take pride in what Inceif has achieved,” said Zeti. She is also the Inceif chancellor. — Bernama