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Associated Press

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said a huge haul of jewellery and valuables seized by police from properties linked to him as part of a money-laundering probe were mostly gifts and the police valuation was likely grossly inflated.
Police on Wednesday estimated the total value of cash, jewellery, watches and handbags to be at least US$273 million, calling last month’s seizure the biggest in Malaysia’s history.
Allegations of corruption at the defunct 1MDB state investment fund that Najib set up led to his shocking defeat in May 9 elections and the end of the 60-year unbroken rule of his coalition.
Najib and his wife have been barred from leaving the country and have both been grilled by anti-graft officials.
They have denied any wrongdoing.


Police in May raided 12 locations, including Najib’s family home and apartments at a high-end Kuala Lumpur condominium, as part of the probe into a criminal breach of trust involving the 1MDB fund.
Police said the items comprise 12,000 pieces of jewellery, 567 handbags, 423 watches and 234 sunglasses.
The jewellery included 2,200 rings, 1,400 necklaces, 2,100 bracelets, 2,800 pair of earrings, 1,600 brooches and 14 tiaras.
Najib said Thursday the estimate based on current prices was unrealistic and inflated as the items were gifts given over decades.
“Any valuation based on retail price and at current prices would be unrealistic, likely to be grossly inflated and will give a very distorted picture as these items were received as gifts over a period that spans decades,” Najib said in a statement.
He said the valuation of the items “appears to be done with a view for political vengeance and political attack on my family”.

For example, he said a 3.4 million ringgit (US$841,000) Rolex Daytona watch listed by police as among the most expensive items was a gift from a Middle Eastern interior minister who visited Malaysia in March.
Najib said police valuation based on current prices is “unrealistic, likely to be grossly inflated and will give a very distorted picture as these items were received as gifts over a period that spans decades.”
Police will soon call Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, as well as people who allegedly gave them some of the items as gifts for questioning, commercial crime investigations chief Amar Singh said Wednesday.
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 US$4.5 billion from the fund from 2009 to 2014, some of which landed in Najib’s bank account.
They say US$27.3 million was used to buy a rare diamond necklace for Rosmah.
New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reopened investigations into 1MDB that were suppressed under Najib’s rule.
Mahathir, who previously was prime minister for 22 years until 2003, was spurred out of retirement by the 1MDB scandal.
He has vowed there will be no deal for Najib, saying he will face the consequences if found guilty of wrongdoing.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Malaysia’s ex-PM Najib Razak slams ‘inflated’ US$273 million police valuation of seized items, ‘vengeance’ on family

Police called last month’s seizure the biggest in Malaysia’s history

epa06843212 Malaysian Police's Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) Director, Amar Singh shows a photograph of seized items from a raid at the residence of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 27 June 2018. EPA-EFE/AHMAD YUSNI

Police said the items comprise 12,000 pieces of jewellery, 567 handbags, 423 watches and 234 sunglasses. Photo: EPA

Police to question Malaysia’s ex-PM Najib Razak and wife after treasure trove worth US$273 million seized in raids

More than 150 police officers and external experts took nearly a month to value the seized items

Members of the Malaysian Police's Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) hold up pictures of seized items while addressing media in Kuala Lumpur on June 27, 2018. Items seized from six premises linked to ousted Malaysian leader Najib Razak, including cash, a vast stash of jewellery and luxury handbags, are worth up to 273 million USD, police said on June 27. / AFP PHOTO / Mohd RASFAN

A member of the Malaysian Police's Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) holds a document with a list of seized items, while addressing the media in Kuala Lumpur on June 27, 2018. Items seized from six premises linked to ousted Malaysian leader Najib Razak, including cash, a vast stash of jewellery and luxury handbags, are worth up to 273 million USD, police said on June 27. / AFP PHOTO / Mohd RASFAN

epa06843257 A photograph of seized items from a raid at premises linked to former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak is displayed during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 27 June 2018. According to media reports, an estimated 273 million US dollar of items - including handbags, jewelry, watches and cash - were found at premises linked to Razak. EPA-EFE/AHMAD YUSNI

Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, leaves the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters after giving a statement in Putrajaya, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, on June 5, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Mohd RASFAN

Boxes of valuables seized in May by Malaysia police from a property in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: EPA

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Police called last month’s seizure the biggest in Malaysia’s history


Former Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak slams police news conference, saying it appeared to be ‘political vengeance and political attack on my family’.


Malaysia

Malaysia’s ex-PM Najib Razak slams ‘inflated’ US$273 million police valuation of seized items, ‘vengeance’ on family

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Police called last month’s seizure the biggest in Malaysia’s history

Police called last month’s seizure the biggest in Malaysia’s history