Malaysia’s 1MDB board resigns over corruption scandal

The board of the 1MDB, accused of transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to the private accounts of Prime Minister Najib Razak, resigned Thursday following a negative report about the firm by a parliamentary board. |

“Given the findings of the PAC Report, the Board has collectively this morning decided to offer its resignation to MoF Inc. (finance ministry),” 1MDB said in a statement.

“This has been a difficult decision but we believe it is the right thing to do, given the circumstances, in order to facilitate any followup investigations as recommended,” it added.

The board of the 1MDB, a state investment fund, is composed of six members, presided by Lodin Wok Kamaruddin.

The parliamentary committee expressed its dissatisfaction with the finances of the state fund, which was created by Najib in 2009 when he first assumed charge as prime minister.

Between 2009 and 2014, 1MDB accumulated a debt of $11.01 billion.

The report said the board had not complied with its responsibilities and recommended, among others, the dissolution of its advisory board, chaired by Najib.

The 1MDB scandal broke out in June last year when there were reports in the foreign media that Najib received $681 million from the state investment fund.

Najib denied the accusations, claiming the money was a donation from the Saudi royal family, and in January, after an investigation by the anticorruption commission, he was absolved of all charges by the public prosecutor.