KUALA LUMPUR – The recent confiscation of four Bugatti Veyron cars by German authorities in Munich, allegedly linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, is part of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation of 50 luxury vehicles since 2020.
Chief comissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed this in a statement following the recent report regarding the seizures from the German criminal investigation division, which is responsible for probing white-collar crime.
MACC initiated investigations into the luxury cars in November 2020 by submitting an application for mutual legal assistance (MLA) to Switzerland to obtain information regarding the frozen assets linked to 1MDB.
“This was followed by a meeting with the Office of the Attorney-General of Switzerland (OAG) regarding the 50 luxury cars involved in the 1MDB investigation in 2021.
“In March 2022, a meeting with the OAG was held in Switzerland to discuss the MLA application’s progress and to obtain more information,” he said.
Azam also said that MACC requested information from German authorities regarding the 1MDB bond funds used to buy luxury cars there on October 26, 2022.
He said the commission had requested the latest information from German authorities over recent seizures of the four luxury cars.
Yesterday, Scoop cited a report from Bild, a German newspaper, about the seizure of four Bugatti Veyrons. However, the owner of this special edition luxury car is currently unknown.
The four cars are special editions known as the Rembrandt, Black Bess, Jean-Pierre Wimille, and Meo Constantini – each worth about US$3 million (around RM14.30 million) and is not usually publicly sold.
Bild reported that the vehicles were seized as part of an investigation linked to the 1MDB scandal.
In relation to the 1MDB case, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is facing four charges of using his position (as the then-prime minister) to obtain bribes amounting to RM2.3 billion and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The high court sentenced him to 12 years in jail and a RM210 million fine on July 28, 2020, after he was found guilty of seven charges of criminal breach of trust, power abuse, and money laundering involving RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds.
He is currently serving his jail term after the Court of Appeal on December 8, 2021, and the Federal Court on August 23, 2022, upheld the high court’s decision.
However, in February this year, Najib’s 12-year prison sentence was halved, which means he will be released on August 23, 2028.
In addition to the early release date, the Federal Pardons Board, through the Prime Minister’s Department (Legal Affairs Division), also announced that his RM210 fine was reduced to RM50 million.
If the fine is not paid, Najib will have to add another year to his now six-year jail term, which will push his release date to August 23, 2029. – April 28, 2024