‘Bling’ seized from Najib to be sold
We will try to monetise whatever we can, says Lim
PUTRAJAYA: The Government will sell much of the huge stash of jewellery and luxury goods, including diamond necklaces, tiaras and designer handbags, that were seized in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd probe of former leader Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Police said 12,000 pieces of jewellery, 567 handbags, 423 watches and 234 sunglasses were confiscated last month from properties linked to Najib after the shocking electoral defeat of his long-ruling coalition. The police valued the haul, the biggest in the country’s history, at RM1.1bil.
Lim told AP in an interview that the Government will “try to monetise whatever we can”.
He said the amount is a drop in the ocean compared to some RM50bil of losses related to the defunct 1MDB investment fund set up by Najib, including from alleged outright theft and loans used to conceal the graft.
“We will try to monetise whatever we can, but bear in mind it is nothing compared to the amount that has been robbed from the state,” he said.
Malaysians have reacted with disbelief on social media at the extensive stash that included 2,200 rings, some 1,400 necklaces, 14 tiaras and thousands of bracelets, earrings and brooches.
Najib has claimed most of the items were gifts from foreign dignitaries over decades and said the police valuation was grossly inflated and appeared to be a “political vengeance” against his family.
“Imagine if that amount was discovered or revealed in the United States, it would be mind boggling even for a country as wealthy as rich as the United States,” Lim said. For a small country such as Malaysia, “it is completely out of this world”, he said.
Najib set up the 1MDB fund when he took power in 2009, but it accumulated billions in debts.
US investigators say Najib’s associates stole and laundered around RM18bil from the fund from 2009 to 2014, some of which landed in Najib’s bank account.
New Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reopened investigations into 1MDB that were stifled under Najib’s rule, and barred Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor from leaving the country.
Dr Mahathir, previously prime minister for 22 years until 2003, was spurred out of retirement by the 1MDB scandal.
Lim said allegations that surfaced in 2015 that some US$700mil from 1MDB was channelled into Najib’s bank accounts were the “game changer” that prompted Dr Mahathir to work with former foes including himself and others who were jailed during Dr Mahathir’s first stint as leader. — AP