DISGRACED former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak is a proud man because none of the RM83 mil in forfeited assets and cash as well as 40 handbags seized under the misappropriation of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds has anything to do with him.
Although some local media tried to link these 40 handbags of various brands estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of ringgit to Najib – or rather to his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor – the truth is that they “were not confiscated from the Pavilion (Residences) or Najib’s home”.
“The RM83 mil fund is also not from Najib or his family. The Law Minister also didn’t say it was from Najib or his family,” penned the elated former Pekan MP who is now serving a 12-year jail sentence in the Kajang Prison for embezzlement of RM42 mil of funds belonging to 1MDB wholly-owned subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.
“Bear in mind that bank accounts as well as houses of (fugitive finanier) Jho Low (whose full name is Low Teck Jho) and some of his friends who fled abroad had also previously been raided and their belongings seized.”
On the same account, Najib pointed out that all funds and personal items that were previously confiscated from him and his family “have already been returned after Najib won court cases on several occasions whereby the judges ruled that there was no evidence showing that the funds or personal items were linked to 1MDB or from illegal activity”.
Najib’s response came following an oral question by Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng who wanted the Prime Minister to state the amount and types of assets that were confiscated from the misappropriation of the 1MDB funds.
In her reply, de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said noted that the government through the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) had filed a property forfeiture application under Section 56 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Illegal Activities Act 2001 against assets deemed as proceeds from misappropriation of 1MDB funds.
This has resulted in the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) having confiscated the following assets:
- Cash and money as well as interest from bank accounts totalling circa RM66.96 mil by PDRM and RM16.06 mil by MACC; and
- 40 handbags of various brands estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of ringgit.
“The money amounting to about RM66.96 mil seized by the PDRM was put into a special trust account of the Finance Ministry while the money amounting to about RM16.06 mil seized by the MACC was put into the government’s revenue account,” noted Azalina.
“A total of 40 handbags that have been confiscated are still in the process of being auctioned.” – June 9, 2023
