KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - CIMB Islamic Bank chief executive officer Badlisyah Abdul Ghani has resigned, days after he posted a wrong analysis of banking documents released by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Facebook.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd said the resignation of Badlisyah, who was also facing an internal probe as CEO and board member, would be effective on Aug 15.
In a statement, CIMB Islamic Bank board chairman Datuk Dr Syed Muhammad Syed A. Kadir said they respected Badlisyah's decision to resign.
"Since his appointment in 2006, Badlisyah has strengthened our global Islamic banking franchise and we are now well positioned globally to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead of us.
"We wish him well for the future and the next stage in his career," he said, adding that the board was grateful for Badlisyah's leadership, integrity and contribution to the group.
Badlisyah had cast doubts on the authenticity of the documents which WSJ had used in its report quoting an "unnamed investigator" as claiming that almost US$700 million (S$949 million) of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds were channelled into Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal accounts.
He later released a statement admitting that he was wrong in his analysis and that the views expressed on his Facebook page were strictly his personal opinion.
CIMB group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak had since said in an Instagram posting that Badlisyah should not have commented on the documents because it was a technical matter.
An internal inquiry had been ordered on the matter.
Badlisyah, who is also the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia president, had erroneously claimed that the bank document said to be from a Wells Fargo Bank N.A. branch in New York was not authentic as it bore the wrong Swift code.
A Swift code is a system that helps overseas banks identify which bank to send money to.
The CIMB Islamic Bank board has elected Mohd Shafri Shahul Hamid as person-in-charge of the bank.
The group nomination and remuneration committee will start the process of identifying the next CEO of the bank.
