FORMER prime minister Najib Razak’s family is pursuing legal action to reclaim the seized items from the police.
In a statement, the ousted leader said the seized items were mostly gifts, with some belonging to relatives and other third parties.
“We dispute the quantity and the valuation given in the press conference by the police since such valuation is subjective and is subject to when the gifts were given,” Najib said in the statement posted on Facebook today.
“Similar to the over-inflating of the national debt, the over-inflating of the quantity and value of the items seized, as well as the press conference, appears to be done with a view for political vengeance and political attack on my family,” he said.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Amar Singh Ishar Singh revealed that items and cash seized from residences linked to Najib were valued between RM900 million and RM1.1 billion.
There were RM440 million worth of jewellery, RM116.7 million cash, 272 Hermes bags valued at RM51.3 million, and even 234 sunglasses worth RM374,000 among others.
Following the police’s announcement, Najib who is being investigated for money-laundering and misappropriation in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, maintained that the seized items, including hordes of jewellery, handbags and other items, were mostly “gifts”.
He also claimed that their valuation was not as high as authorities have stated.
In the statement today, Najib’s family reiterated that most of the seized valuables were gifts received over decades from friends and foreign dignitaries, including royalty, for occasions like official visits, family events, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and engagements.
Najib again questioned the valuations of the items, saying that it was “unrealistic” to based them on retail or current prices.
He said they would “likely to be grossly inflated” and “will give a much distorted picture”.
He used the Rolex Daytona, which police said was valued at RM3.5 million, as an example. The watch was said to be the most expensive among the 423 watches seized.
The Pekan MP said the watch was a recent gift among several other presents from an interior minister who was also a Middle Eastern prince, who visited Malaysia in March.
The watch and other items were in a box bearing the royal crest of a foreign country, Najib said, adding that the police should not have omitted such details.
He said many items seized by the police were inside boxes properly labelled by his staff, with detailed descriptions of the gifts, when they were received and who they were from.
“Should the police call our family for questioning over this matter, we will provide our full cooperation.
“To the best of our ability, we shall help the police identify those who have given the gifts over the decades.” –
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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