Cash, jewellery, designer bags seized from Malaysian ex-PM Najib
News & Trends •
we have sealed the bags but we know they contain money and we know they contain jewellery1 dozens of designer handbags stuffed with cash and jewellery were seized during malaysian police raids on luxury properties linked to former prime minister najib razak on friday as a corruption probe gathered pace1 in the taman duta home of najib the police said they seized 52 luxury handbags. the handbags included 16 from chanel 10 from gucci eight from versace and five from oscar de la renta the straits times reported1 the operation also yielded a haul of ten luxury watches including several rolexes a hublot and a patek philippe as well as rm537000 s181000 and 2.87 million sri lankan rupees s24400 in cash1 according to straits times the haul was in addition to the 284 boxes containing luxury handbags and 72 bags filled with jewellery cash of various denominations watches and other valuables that were seized late on thursday night after the police raided three apartments owned by datuk seri najibs family in pavilion residences a posh condominium development in kuala lumpurs shopping district1 at one of these apartments the police took what was likely to be their biggest haul loading five police trucks with hundreds of orange boxes containing hermes birkin bags. a birkin costs anywhere between us12000 s16105 and us3000001 the discovery adds significantly to the peril faced by najib who just last week had seemed to be cruising toward an election victory before a stunning upset1 the raids made good on a pledge by the new government headed by 92-year-old prime minister mahathir mohamad to investigate najib1 officers had previously declined to comment on the searches1 but amar singh head of the malaysian police commercial crime investigation unit on friday confirmed the raids were linked to investigations into accusations that najib his family and cronies looted billions from a state investment fund he founded1 i cant give an estimated value of the items amar told reporters at the upscale kuala lumpur condo complex where the raids were carried out1 officers removed hermes birkin and louis vuitton bags as part of a trove whose value they said they could not yet estimate because of its sheer volume1 he said 72 of the bags were filled with large amounts of various currencies including malaysian ringgit us dollars watches and jewellery1 the amount of jewellery is rather big he said1 footage captured by local media showed cardboard boxes and suitcases sealed in plastic wrapping being loaded into a black police truck. it took five trucks to remove all of the seized items reports said1 just last week 64-year-old najib was widely expected to lead his powerful barisan nasional national front political machine to victory extending a more than six-decade reign that had made it one of the worlds longest-serving governments1 but his coalition accused of ballot-box stuffing and gerrymandering was unexpectedly trounced by a diverse alliance that rallied public support against najibs suspected corruption and increasingly repressive tactics1 the handbag discovery will add to public scorn for najibs wife rosmah mansor who has long been reviled by malaysians for her perceived haughty demeanour and reported vast collection of designer bags clothing and jewellery collected on jet-set overseas shopping trips1 her reputation contributed to voter perceptions of rot in a ruling establishment that had lost touch with economically struggling and middle-class malaysians1 mahathir had already barred najib from leaving the country in the wake of last weeks election over allegations that he oversaw the looting of billions of dollars from sovereign wealth fund 1mdb in a breathtaking and complex campaign of fraud and money-laundering stretching around the world1 the police actions have fuelled speculation in malaysia that najib would soon be taken into custody but so far there has been no indication that his arrest was imminent1 mahathir and anwar ibrahim the former opposition leader who was jailed under najib but freed on wednesday indicated this week that they expected charges to be filed against najib soon1