Malaysian police say they have seized nearly $275 million in cash, jewelry and luxury handbags in raids on properties linked to scandal-tainted ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The head of the police commercial crime division, Amar Singh, gave reporters an inventory of the seized items during a press conference Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, which he called the biggest seizure in the country’s history. They include 12,000 pieces of jewelry, 567 handbags, 423 watches and 234 pairs of sunglasses.
Singh says the most expensive item was a necklace worth more than $1 million.
The items were confiscated from at least six properties linked to Najib, who is at the center of a probe involving allegations of embezzlement from the sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, which he created while in office.
The U.S. Justice Department says a total of $4.5 billion was looted from 1MDB, some of allegedly landed in Najib’s personal bank accounts. The scandal led to last month’s stunning electoral loss of Najib’s National Front coalition, which had ruled Malaysia since gaining independence in 1957.
Since his ouster, Najib has been barred from leaving Malaysia and questioned by the government’s anti-graft agency along with his wife, Rosmah Mansor. Singh says the former first couple will soon be called in for questioning involving the seized items.
Najib has denied the allegations.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who led the coalition that defeated Najib in last month’s elections, has reopened investigations into the 1MDB scandal which his predecessor shut down. The 92-year-old Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia from 1981 until 2003, says the evidence against Najib is clear.