MALAYSIAN billionaire Dato Samsudin, who owns 75% of the beleaguered New Republic Bank, says the if the bank is liquidated it will not hurt him as his assets are diverse and spread throughout the world. In an interview with Business Times on Sunday, Samsudin blamed “inaccurate reports” in the press for causing a run on the bank’s deposits. “There is no bank in the world, no matter how strong, that can withstand the kind of publicity and unfounded smear campaign we have suffered.” In February NRB called in the Reserve Bank to place it under curatorship and asked the JSE to suspend parent NRB Holdings’ shares after a run on its deposits. The Durban High Court is expected to rule on Monday on whether the bank is to be liquidated. Meanwhile, Samsudin says suing Business Day and auditors KPMG is “one of the options we are considering”.