Crime & Courts

Najib to face more 1MDB-related charges

GEORGE TOWN: Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is expected to face more charges pertaining to the ongoing 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) investigations.

Najib’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, on the other hand, is expected to be summoned by the police to have her statement recorded on the seized jewellery and other luxury items pertaining to the 1MDB investigations.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim, asked on the progress of investigation into the 1MDB probe, said Najib would face more charges while his wife would be called to have her statement taken.

He, however, noted that many parts of the investigations have yet to be completed.

“Yes (there will be more charges faced by Najib) but our investigations are not fully completed yet. There are cases under Section 409 of Penal Code for criminal breach of trust and also the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (AMLA) 2001.

“1MDB is a big investigation. Some involve foreign authorities such as Switzerland, Singapore, the United States and others, so it must go through the Attorney General (AG). Some of them have talked to us and our AG on the case,” he told a press conference after officiating the closing ceremony of the Police Inovation Day 2018 at Universiti Sains Malaysia here on Thursday.

Asked on when Rosmah would be summoned, Noor Rashid said it would not be anytime soon.

“We will call her for verification but not so soon. We still have other work to do like trace the manufacturers and sellers of the jewellery before we can record her statement,” he said.

He said Dubai-based Adi Hasan AlFardan Jewellery has made a second claim on the jewellery seized by the police, which have been linked to Rosmah.

He explained that police have already responded to the company on the latter’s first list of claims, and clarified that the jewellery the company is claiming for were not among the list of seized items.

“For the second one, we are still checking on it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Noor Rashid​ said Baling member of parliament Datuk Seri Abd Azeez Abdul Rahim, who was detained by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) recently, is not being investigated over 1MDB.

He said Azeez would only be called to have his statement recorded if their investigations linked him to the 1MDB probe.

“As of now, we have recorded statements from 64 people,” he added.

On a separate case, Noor Rashid gave his assurance that police would complete its investigation into the murder of Cradle Fund chief executive officer Nazrin Hassan soon.

He, however, did not reveal further details on the case.

Nazrin was found dead after his room at his home in Mutiara Damansara caught fire on June 14. Initial reports said the fire may have been caused by an exploding mobile phone, which was charging by his bedside.

However, following a report by the Fire and Rescue Department, as well as results of the post-mortem examination, the case was later classified as murder.

Numerous arrests have been made with the recent ones including the sister-in-law of Nazrin and her husband. They have since been released from remand.

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