KUALA LUMPUR • About RM120 million (S$40.5 million) - this is what investigators have tallied up, after they finally finished counting the cash in various currencies seized from apartments linked to former premier Najib Razak at the Pavilion Residences last week.
Sources said officers from the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) completed the painstaking task of counting the seized cash at its headquarters at Menara 238 in Jalan Tun Razak yesterday.
"The process of counting the cash started on Monday as investigators pulled long hours just to ensure the process was done thoroughly. Some 30 bags of cash were counted by police personnel with the assistance of Bank Negara officers. The total amounted to around RM120 million," a source said.
The bags of money were among a haul of 284 boxes filled with designer handbags, watches, jewellery and cash in various currencies taken from three luxury condominium units here, the value of which was impossible to estimate due to the sheer volume. The raids were part of police investigations into troubled state fund 1MDB.
Last Friday, police seized valuables and cash following a check on six locations linked to Datuk Seri Najib, including the Prime Minister's Office, his official residence and other premises. In a police report, Mr Najib had claimed that the cash seized from the Pavilion Residences was donations from his friends and meant for Barisan Nasional's election campaign.
When contacted, Bukit Aman CCID director Amar Singh refused to comment as the matter is still under investigation. He said: "I cannot comment on the amount of cash that has been counted. I will hold a proper press conference to address the progress of the investigation."
It is learnt that the police are also being assisted by other agencies, including Bank Negara. Other sources have also been reported as saying that the process of counting the money was very tedious as it involved multiple denominations, and the serial number of every banknote seized had to be recorded.
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
