Malaysia Police Say Found $28.6 mn in 1MDB-linked Raids

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Kamis, 1 Januari 1970 07:00 WIB

Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak arrives to give a statement to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Putrajaya, Malaysia May 24, 2018. In a late night Facebook post on Wednesday, Najib said Mahathir and his finance minister's "alarming and confusing" remarks about the country's debts and 1MDB liabilities "tell half the story" and had caused the stockmarket to fall. REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin

TEMPO.CO, Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian police said on Friday that cash worth 114 million ringgit ($28.6 million) and over 400 luxury handbags were seized from several apartments as part of an anti-graft probe into a state fund founded by former premier Najib Razak.

Najib's home, and the apartments of a son and a daughter were among a dozen properties searched since May 18, Amar Singh, the head of commercial crime division, told a news conference.

Since his defeat in an election on May 9, Najib has been barred from leaving the country by the new government, which has relaunched an investigation into billions of dollars missing from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

At one empty apartment, officers found 35 bags stuffed with cash valued at 114 million ringgit. The banknotes were in 26 currencies, though the largest amounts were in ringgit and Singapore dollars.

"We have sat together with bank officials to tally and estimate the total cash seized," Singh said.

Read: Malaysia`s Ex-leader Questioned Again in Corruption Scandal

Singh said the empty apartment in Pavillion Residences, in the Bukit Bintang neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur, did not belong to any of Najib's family members. He declined to name the owner.

Police also found 284 boxes of handbags in the apartment, and a further 150 handbags were seized from the daughter's home, along with various shoes. Singh said most of the bags appeared to be a Hermes brand.

"We have had discussions with Hermes, and we will take pictures and send them to Paris to verify their authenticity and their value," Singh said.

Experts were being brought in to value the jewelry, watches and other luxury items seized during the raid.

Singh said half a million ringgit, excluding foreign currency, was found at Najib's home.

Najib concluded giving a statement to anti-graft agents on Thursday that was related to transactions of $10.6 million into his bank account that investigators had traced to a former unit of 1MDB.

Najib, who led the country for almost a decade, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

REUTERS