VIRAL photos and reports of the value of items seized at a condominium unit linked to the 1MDB affair last week are false, police said today.

“It was fake news,” said Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Amar Singh.

Amar was commenting on the images and news that were widely circulated after police raided a condominium unit at Pavilion Residences in the city on May 18 as part of investigations into 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

He said the photos could not have been from the police as only the senior officers were allowed to have their handphones with then during the operation, and that too was restricted to calls only.

Amar stressed none of his men took photographs and then circulated them.

“We had one official cameraman on duty, and he was from the CCID unit,” Amar said. 

Amar also rebutted claims that the searches conducted at the premises linked to Najib were unlawful.

“We are conducting the searches under Section 409 of the Penal Code, and cases under this section are a seizable offence. As such we hold the powers under Chapter 13 of the Criminal Procedure Code. On top of this, we have a warrant to search the premise if it is empty. The powers of Chapter 13 and the search warrant for this empty premise led us to find these goods,” he said at the press conference.

Police on May 18 announced that 284 boxes of handbags and 72 bags of various sizes containing cash and jewellery were seized from one of three units at the Pavilion Residences in Jalan Raja Chulan.

Police in the past one week had conducted searches at 12 premises that include three condominium units at the Pavilion Residences linked to Najib, Najib’s private residence in Jalan Langgak Duta, his former official residence in Seri Perdana and the Prime Minister’ Office in Putrajaya.

Apart from the loot seized from the unit, police also confiscated 150 handbags from a unit where Najib’s daughter is living, including watches, jewellery and baby shoes.

More handbags were seized from the Langgak Duta home along with RM500,000 and foreign currencies. Also seized were designer watches and other items related to the 1MDB probe. – May 25, 2018