KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Islamic Bank chief executive officer Badlisyah Abdul Ghani (pic), who is facing an internal probe for his Facebook posting on banking documents released by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), has resigned.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd said his resignation as CEO and board member would be effective Aug 15.

CIMB in a statement Tuesday said CIMB Islamic Bank's board had elected Mohd Shafri Shahul Hamid as person-in-charge of the bank and the group nomination and remuneration committee will start the process to identify the next CEO for the bank.

CIMB Islamic Bank board chairman Datuk Dr Syed Muhammad Syed A. Kadir said; "We respect Badlisyah's decision. 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. The board and I are grateful to Badlisyah for his leadership, integrity and contribution to the group. We wish him well for the future and the next stage in his career."

Badlisyah had cast doubts on the authenticity of the documents WSJ used for its reports on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

He subsequently released a statement admitting his analysis was wrong and that the views expressed on his Facebook page were strictly his personal opinion.

CIMB group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak later said in an Instagram posting that Badlisyah should not have commented on the documents as it was a technical matter and an internal inquiry had been ordered on the matter.

Badlisyah, who is also Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia president, 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 code that helps overseas banks identify which bank to send money to.

Earlier this month, WSJ had published an article quoting an "unnamed investigator" that claimed almost US$700mil (RM2.63bil) of 1MDB funds were channelled into Datuk Seri Najib Razak's personal accounts. Najib's lawyers then sent a clarification demand to the board of directors of Dow Jones and Company Inc, which publishes WSJ.