Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian police on Friday raided former PM Najib Razak’s flat and confiscated 284 boxes of luxury handbags and 72 bags carrying cash, jewelry and other valuables, police said.
The police began the search on Wednesday night which continued till Friday morning.
The raid was carried out in view of Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor’s involvement in the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) corruption scandal, in which billions of dollars of a government fund went missing and were embezzled around the world, funding yachts, Picasso paintings and Hollywood films.
Some $681m of the fund was alleged to have been transferred directly into Najib’s personal bank account, and the 1MDB money also allegedly funded a 22-carat pink diamond necklace, worth $27.3m.
1Malaysia Development Berhad, set up by Mr Najib in 2009, was meant to turn Kuala Lumpur into a financial hub and boost the economy through strategic investments. But it started to attract negative attention in early 2015 after it missed payments for some of the $11bn it owed to banks and bondholders.
