About RM120mil - cash seized from Pavilion Residences finally counted

PETALING JAYA: It's about RM120mil - this is what investigators have tallied up, after they finally finished counting the cash in various currencies seized from 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 along Jalan Tun Razak on Wednesday (May 23).

“The process of counting the cash started on Monday (May 21) 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 RM120mil,” a source said.

After the counting, the bags of cash were transported to Bank Negara for storage.

The bags of money were among 284 boxes filled with designer handbags, watches, jewellery and cash in various currencies from three luxury condominiums here, the value of which was impossible to estimate due to the sheer volume.

The raids were part of police investigations into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Last Friday, police seized valuables and cash following a check on six locations linked to Najib, including the Prime Minister’s Office, his official residence as well as other premises.

In a police report, Najib had claimed that the cash seized from the Pavilion Residences were donations from his friends and meant for Barisan Nasional’s election campaign.

When contacted, Bukit Aman CCID director Comm Datuk Seri Amar Singh refused to comment as the matter is still under investigation.

“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,” he said.

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.