MALAYSIAN police have confiscated 284 designer handbags and 72 suitcases containing cash, jewellery and other valuables as part of a corruption and money-laundering investigation into former prime minister Najib Razak.
Commercial crime chief Amar Singh said the valuables were seized in a search that began on Thursday at apartments linked to Najib at an upscale apartment in Kuala Lumpur.
Singh said the seizure was part of investigations into a corruption scandal at the 1MDB state fund, which is also being probed by the US and other countries.
US investigators say Najib’s associates stole and laundered $4.5 billion (£3.3bn) from the fund, some of which landed in Najib’s bank account, and that $23 million (£17m) was used to buy a pink diamond necklace for his wife.
An official at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said Najib had been summoned for questioning on Tuesday as part of its 1MDB probe. Najib, whose coalition was ousted in a stunning election defeat last week, denies any wrongdoing. Television stations showed footage of police carting away orange boxes containing handbags as well as luggage of various sizes from the apartment.
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