KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB chairperson Nazir Razak regrets having helped distribute USD7 million to politicians in the ruling party before the 2013 general election.

In an Instagram post last night, Nazir wrote he regretted the whole matter and understood the current furore surrounding it.

“I understand the furore, and with hindsight, I wish I didn’t,” Nazir wrote. “I assumed and believed, in good faith, that the funds came from legitimate political fund-raising.”

In his post, Nazir said Prime Minister Najib Razak had asked him during the run-up to GE13 to “urgently help pass on cash to party machinery.”

“The entire amount was distributed, not a sen retained by me.”

This follows reports by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that Nazir had confirmed receiving almost USD7 million from Najib.

The WSJ also claimed Malaysian investigation documents showed that “the majority” of the funds in the accounts originated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Nazir said he believed at the time that the money originated from donations he had helped raise from Malaysian corporations and individuals for the elections.

“I had no knowledge whatsoever that these funds may have originated from any other source(s),” the Journal quoted Nazir as saying.

“The entire amount was paid out in cash to various recipients according to the instructions of the party president and the account was closed with a zero balance.”

Nazir confirmed to the Journal he had received the USD7 million, which he said was then disbursed by CIMB bank staff to ruling-party politicians according to the instructions of party leaders, whom he did not name.