RM46 million was stolen from Najib - Lawyer

KUALA LUMPUR – Lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah claims that RM46 million belonging to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak which was kept at a unit at the Pavilion Residences here, has been stolen.

Shafee said the theft was detected after the police found only RM114 million out of a total of RM160 million as informed by Najib.

He said during the raid conducted on May 17, 2018, the authorities did not count the money alleged to be proceeds from the misappropriation of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds.

Therefore, he said the question was whether the assets were calculated at the premises owned by Obyu Holdings Sdn Bhd at the Pavilion Residences, or in another location.

"Najib informed that there was RM160 million, not RM114 million, so that means someone stole the money.

"The police also did not tell how the money found was packed and did not hand over the list of the seized items to the occupants of the premises,” he said after the proceeding of the government’s forfeiture application of the seized assets at the High Court, here, today.

Shafee said the raid was more of a “smoking gun” just to implicate Najib and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor as culprits in the 1MDB case.

He said the court has ruled that the seized properties were not obtained in connection with the predicate offence (illegal activities) or using embezzled funds from 1MDB.

"Najib has made a police report about the loss of the money and we are asking the authorities to investigate the personnel who were there during the raid," he said.

In the forfeiture proceeding on Monday, the government failed to forfeit 2,435 pieces of jewellery, seven watches and 29 designer handbags worth RM80 million seized during the raid at Pavilion Residences, four years ago, which purportedly belonged to the couple.

Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin made the decision after dismissing the prosecution’s forfeiture application over the assets.

Meanwhile, when asked whether the incumbent Pekan MP made an application to the Prisons Department to vote in the 15th General Election (GE15), Shafee said he did not know about it and whether the department would allow inmates to go out and vote.

On July 25, 2020, Najib and Rosmah had inspected 306 handbags, 401 watches, 16 watch accessories and 234 eyeglasses seized by police from a premises belonging to Obyu Holdings at the Pavilion Residences in 2018.

This follows the prosecution’s forfeiture application filed in 2019 against the company for the confiscation of various items including 11,991 jewellery, 401 watches, 16 accessory watches, 234 pairs of glasses, 306 handbags, as well as cash in various currencies amounting to RM114,164,393.44.

Najib and Rosmah were third parties who had sought to claim the jewellery and watches in the prosecution’s forfeiture application against Obyu Holdings, a company owned by businessman Tan Sri Bustari Yusof.

The items seized by the police from the premises on May 17, 2018 was said to be linked to the 1MDB financial scandal.