Police trying to open 20-year-old safe at Najib’s house
FMT Reporters | May 17, 2018
In a statement through his lawyer, former prime minister complains of harrassment on first day of Ramadan, and says three boxes of 'insignficant' personal items removed by police after an all night search.
Najib’s lawyer, Harpal Singh Grewal, says former prime minister has complained of harrassment despite having pledged full cooperation.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have been drilling all day into a safe at the private home of former prime minister Najib Razak, his lawyer said today, complaining that the police raid constituted harrassment of Najib on the first day of Ramadan, and a disturbance to the neighbours at the Langgak Duta neighbourhood.
In a statement through his lawyer, Harpal Singh Grewal, at 5pm, the former prime minister said, “this harrassment has now continued for almost 18 hours and nothing meaningful has come from the search and seizure of what would appear to be insignifant personal items”.
The statement said the police team of about 50-60 people, from the commercial crimes unit at federal police headquarters, had behaved professionally from the time they arrrived at about 10pm until after 5am.
They searched every room and opened several boxes of personal items, including handbags and clothing, which had been packed and brought from the prime minister’s official residence in Putrajaya.
The police packed and removed about three boxes of personal items, including clothes and handbags.
Although the police said they would be leaving after taking the last box, several police remained outside the residence.
“At about 8.30am, some of the officers proceeded to the first floor and decided to drill open a safe which had remained locked for two decades as the key had been misplaced. The drilling continues although it is past 5pm now and there is absolutely no peace and quiet at his residence,” the statement said.
He said Najib had agreed to extend his fullest cooperation to the authorities but the harrassment had continued.
The police action against Najib comes in the wake of the Barisan Nasional’s defeat in the general election last week.
The new prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, promised swift action to investigate a long-running controversy about the financial affairs of 1Malaysia Development Berhad, which is at the centre of allegations of corruption and money-laundering involving billions of ringgit.
1MDB, regarded as Najib’s brainchild, has reported cumulative losses amounting to as much as RM42 billion, and the US Justice Department has filed suit to recover luxury goods, real estate and other items with a total value of about US$1 billion said to have been bought from money siphoned off from 1MDB.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in 1MDB’s affairs, especially about the flow of about RM2.6 billion through one of his personal bank accounts.
Simultaneous raids on two apartments, prime minister's office and official residence and Najib's home, says head of federal commercial crime unit.
Amar Singh of federal police headquarters says searches are being conducted simultaneously at five locations.
KUALA LUMPUR: Federal police are to continue searching the family residences and the offices of former prime minister Najib Razak in raids which began yesterday, while Najib’s lawyer has said that police action at his private home constituted harassment.
The raids are being carried out under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, according to Najib’s lawyer Harpal Singh Grewal, who said earlier today that police had packed “insignificant” personal items into five boxes and removed them in a Black Maria which left Najib’s home early today.
Police said that the search was not over. “It is still being conducted at the five areas simultaneously,” said Amar Singh, director of the Commercial CID at federal police headquarters.
The police raids come in the wake of Barisan Nasional’s defeat at the general election last week and calls by the new prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, for renewed investigations into 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which has been mired in a five-year controversy involving allegations of corruption and money-laundering of sums amounting to billions of ringgit.
Amar Singh said searches were continuing at two apartments owned by Najib’s family, his office at the Prime Minister’s Department, and at the prime minister’s official residence which Najib had used during two terms as prime minister from 2009.
He said he was not able to reveal the contents of the boxes in the police Black Maria that left Najib’s home at Langgak Duta. A press conference would be held once all the searches were done.
Earlier this evening, Harpal Singh said the police had been drilling all day trying to open a 20-year-old safe at Najib’s home. He said a police search of the house from 10pm last night to 5am this morning had uncovered nothing incriminating.
He said there was no indication that Najib would be arrested, adding that the family was cooperative and police had acted professionally until 5am.
Mahathir has said there is sufficient evidence to investigate the 1MDB scandal. Yesterday, a summary of the Auditor-General’s 2016 investigation of 1MDB was made public, giving details of mismanagement and financial transactions carried out without instructions from the board of directors.
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