CIMB chairperson Nazir Razak did not misuse his position with regard to the US$7 million which he had confirmed he received from his brother Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

This is the conclusion of the internal review conducted by the CIMB boards, which commenced on April 5.

Nazir had earlier announced on April 18 that he would be going on voluntary leave to allow an independent internal review on the US$7 million which he had helped disburse to politicians.

He will be resuming his position as CIMB Group chairperson and CIMB Bank director effective May 19.

"The findings from the review concluded that (Datuk Seri) Nazir Razak did not misuse his position as the group chief executive at that time nor was there any inappropriate use of the bank's resources," read a statement from the CIMB Group.

However, they admitted that they identified some "process shortcomings" and the boards have instructed the management to enact improvements and processes to prevent such an incident from recurring.

They added that they had appointed an external audit firm and had sought independent legal advice to assist with the internal review.

Meanwhile, CIMB Group senior independent director and chairperson of the audit committee, Mohd Nasir Ahmad, welcomed Nazir back as their chairperson on behalf of the boards.

“The boards welcome Nazir back to serve as chairperson of CIMB Group and director of CIMB Bank.

"The boards are committed to maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance in our organisation, and this decision was taken with firm intent towards fulfilling these obligations," he said.

Previously, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) had quoted Nazir as confirming that he received US$7 million from his brother.

The money was then transferred to the ruling-party politicians according to the instructions of party leaders.

However, Nazir had told WSJ that he believed the money was from donations he helped raise from Malaysian corporations and individuals for the 2013 general election, and is not sure of any other source of the funds.

The CIMB chairperson had also posted on his Instagram saying he wished he had not helped Najib on this issue.

“I understand the furore, and with hindsight, I wish I didn't.

"I assumed and believed, in good faith, that the funds came from legitimate political fund-raising," he said on his Instagram, adding that the entire sum had been disbursed.