The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) has “concluded” that Bank Negara's foreign exchange (forex) losses amounted to at least RM31.5 billion between 1991 and 1994, announced the commission's chairperson Mohd Sidek Hassan.
Mohd Sidek, who heads the six-member RCI, claimed that the figure had been purportedly concealed from Bank Negara's reports.
"We have to find out who was responsible for asking it to be hidden," he said after the first day of hearing into the losses which incurred during Dr Mahathir Mohamad's tenure as prime minister.
However, Mahathir's counsel Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla voiced his protest.
Speaking to reporters later, Haniff claimed that Sidek, who also headed the special task force to investigate the losses, made an "unnecessary conclusion".
"To my understanding, any findings should be made at the end of the hearing. The commission should not give a round up because the finding may differ," he added.
Earlier today, the RCI's first witness, former Bank Negara staff Abdul Aziz Abdul Manaf, told the commission that the central bank lost RM31.516 billion from 1991 to 1994.
[More to follow]
-Mkini
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