Putrajaya and the Royal Malaysia Police have filed a civil forfeiture suit against former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and several others in relation to cash and luxury goods said to have been bought using 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds.
Updated: Najib will challenge the two civil forfeiture suits, said is lawyer Shafee Abdullah.
Forfeiture suit for:
- Klang Valley property
- RM116.7m cash in 26 currencies
- 12,000 pieces jewellery, 567 handbags, 423 watches, 234 sunglasses
- 27 luxury vehicles
- 29 bank accounts
According to The Edge Markets, two notices of the civil forfeiture action were submitted to the High Court yesterday informing it of the intent to take ownership of a total of RM711 million worth of items from these individuals.
The action was a follow-up to the seizure of the valuables by police last year at the Pavilion Residences, Najib’s personal mansion in Langgak Duta and other places.
The first notice was for an unnamed property in the Klang Valley, cash (including foreign currencies), jewellery, handbags, watches and sunglasses said to be worth RM680 million.
The second notice of motion is to seize RM31 million worth of items, including 27 luxury cars, 29 bank accounts, as well as more watches and bags.
Last year it was reported that the police mounted an operation and raided several luxury condominiums in Bukit Bintang and other places to seize various valuables.
The law mandates that such confiscations expire after 12 months from when the items were first taken, which would come into effect in this case on May 16.
The commercial crime investigation director at the time, Datuk Seri Amar Singh, told the media a month after the seizure that the items confiscated included cash in 26 currencies, 12,000 pieces of jewellery, 567 handbags, 423 watches and 234 sunglasses, which were valued at between RM900 million and RM1.1 billion.
He further said the appraised cost of 12,000 pieces of jewellery alone to be RM440 million, with their market price estimated at between RM660 million and RM880 million.
The 234 sunglasses of various brands, including Gucci, Versace and Cartier, alone were estimated to be worth some RM374,000.
By law, police have to file for a civil forfeiture no later than one year after the items were taken, as the seizure order issued to confiscate items in a raid expires in 12 months.
In the case of the items seized from Najib and Rosmah, the deadline is May 16.
Umno had made a claim for the RM116.7 million that was seized but High Court Justice Datuk Nik Hasmat Nik Mohamed struck out the claim on March 22.