KUALA LUMPUR - The president and group executive director of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has refuted a claim by whistleblower portal Sarawak Report that he had provided false statements to Malaysia's central bank that the state investment agency had cash in a Swiss private bank in Singapore.

Arul Kanda Kandasamy issued a statement on Thursday saying that Sarawak Report was lying about 1MDB by providing "false information and direct unfounded allegations" about its bank statements.

"We note with dismay that an online blog, Sarawak Report, continues to carry false information and direct unfounded allegations at 1MDB,'' he said.

"In a recent post, the blog stated that 'Arul Kandasamy had provided a false bank statement to Bank Negara to imply that (1MDB) had (cash in a BSI account in Singapore)".

"This is a lie. I have never provided any such statement to Bank Negara. To state otherwise is blatantly false and incorrect, as are any allegations that are based on this premise."

Sarawak Report recently published a blog post saying that Arul provided a false statement to Bank Negara Malaysia about 1MDB's cash in BSI in Singapore. 1MDB has debts of some RM42 billion (S$15.6 billion) but Putrajaya has said its assets of RM51 billion can cover the sum, the Malaysian Insider reported.

In his statement, Arul reiterated the assurance that the ongoing investigations into 1MDB will provide answers to questions about its business dealings and debts.

"As stated previously, we have been extending our full cooperation to the review being conducted by the Auditor General's office, and look forward to appearing before the Public Accounts Committee.

"These inquiries, which are transparent and bipartisan, should answer the many questions that have been asked of the company. We request all parties to await the outcome of these independent inquiries, and refrain from making irresponsible and unfounded allegations in the meantime," he added.