KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today fixed Oct 14 to hear an application by Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and their daughter Nooryana Najwa to conduct a physical examination of goods seized by police.
The items which had been seized in connection with the alleged misappropriation of funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), include 315 designer hand bags of various brands, 14 watches and 27 pairs of branded shoes, as well as cash in various currencies, including Pound Sterling 320,500, RM537,000, Sri Lankan Rupee 2,870,000; and RM187,750 (old Malaysian currency).
Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan set the date for the hearing during case management held today and attended by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission’s (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Aaron Chelliah, lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee representing Najib, and lawyer Iskandar Shah representing Rosmah and Nooryana Najwa.
Aaron informed the court that Najib had only submitted his application today for the physical inspection of the goods seized by the police on May 17 last year and kept in their possession, while the MACC had previously received the application for the same by Rosmah and Nooryana Najwa.
On July 18, Najib had filed an application for the prosecution to supply him with coloured photographs accompanied by complete descriptions such as labels and gift cards which had been found with the seized items - he had made the application on the basis that portions of the seized items had been removed from their original packaging, and this had caused confusion and hampered the identification of the items.
Najib’s lawyer told the court that he had been informed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers that his client could view all photographs of the items seized, adding however that the application for the physical inspection was made today.
Chelliah also informed the court that the notice of forfeiture in reference to the seized goods had been gazetted on Aug 8, and that Malayan Banking Berhad was present in court today as a third party to get an understanding of its position in reference to the goods.
In this connection, Mohamed Zaini ordered Malayan Banking Berhad to check on its status concerning the matter before making an application for the goods seized.
On May 30, the court had allowed the prosecution to gazette a forfeiture notice for the benefit of third parties who had an interest in various items including 27 cars which had been seized from the couple, their three children and 13 other individuals, as well as several companies.
The notice, which had been allowed in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, was aimed at enabling third parties to attend court on a given day and provide justification as to why the seized items should not be forfeited by the government. - Bernama
