Luxury bags, cash, jewellery seized in probe of ex-PM
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police confiscated 284 designer handbags and 72 suitcases containing cash, jewellery and other valuables yesterday as part of a corruption and money-laundering investigation into former Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Commercial crime chief Amar Singh said the valuables were seized in a search that began late on Thursday at apartments linked to Mr Najib at an upscale condominium in Kuala Lumpur.
Mr Singh said the seizure was part of investigations into a corruption scandal at the 1MDB state fund, which is also being probed by the US and other countries.
US i nvestigators say Mr Najib’s associates stole and laundered US$4.5 billion from the fund, some of which landed in Mr Najib’s bank account, and that $23 million was used to buy a pink diamond necklace for his wife. Mr Najib, whose coalition was ousted in a stunning election defeat last week, denies any wrongdoing.
Television networks showed police carting away orange boxes containing handbags and luggage of various sizes from the condominium. Each orange box has a label and a picture of the bag.
The labels on some of the boxes seen by The Associated Press describe the bags as a “navy blue crocodile skin with diamond”, a “blue with diamonte” crocodile skin Hermes and a grey crocodile skin Hermes. All appeared to be new and were bought abroad, including in Paris and Switzerland in 2013 and 2015.
Mr Singh said the seizure included Birkin Hermes bags, cash in various currencies, watches and a “big amount” of jewellery. Mr Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, is known in Malaysia for her love for Birkin bags, which luxury publications say cost from $12,000 to more than $200,000.
Police conducted simultaneous raids at several other locations including Mr Najib’s family house, his former office as prime minister and an official residence. Documents related to 1MDB were taken from the office and police are still trying to crack open a safe in Mr Najib’s house, he said.
He declined to say if the haul would lead to an indictment for Mr Najib. The search for evidence continues, he said.
New prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who led an opposition alliance to victory in May 9 polls that ended the 60-year rule of Mr Najib’s coalition, has reopened the probe into 1MDB.
Dr Mahathir, 92, has said an initial investigation showed the scale of wrongdoing by Mr Najib’s administration was more serious than thought. He has said that arrests will be made when there is evidence, and there would be “no deal” with Mr Najib.