PETALING JAYA: The public should read beyond the headlines as they have a false perception that I have offshore bank accounts and am listed in the "Pandora Papers", says Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The former prime minister said that some had come to the conclusion that he was listed among those with offshore accounts following headlines in several media reports linking his name to the massive data leak.

The Pandora Papers are a data leak of some 2.94 terabytes of data, including among others, the opening of offshore accounts involving former and current government and political leaders around the world.

In a Facebook post Thursday (Oct 7), Najib said his name had been linked because law firm Wong & Co, which had been used by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) in the past, was listed as part of a conglomerate of international legal firms in the data leak.

"I have never appointed Wong & Co for any legal matters nor have I spoken to anyone from the firm," he said in his Facebook post Thursday.

He said the courts had agreed that the appointment of Wong & Co by the board of directors and management of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), the precursor to 1MDB, had been done before he became involved.

He added that the appointment had been made before the federal government took over TIA when he became prime minister.

According to Najib, it was the same for the appointment of other professional services companies by 1MDB, including Goldman Sachs, Ambank and KPMG.

"It was done while it was still TIA, and we continued to use their services after TIA became 1MDB.

"Otherwise, why would the companies pay compensation and penalties in the billions of ringgit?" he asked.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/10/07/najib-i-have-no-offshore-bank-accounts-not-listed-in-039pandora-papers039