KUALA LUMPUR — A total of 40 luxury handbags from various brands linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal will be put up for auction.

Ms Azalina Othman Said, who is the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Law and Institutional Reforms, said the government through the Attorney General’s Chambers has filed an application for the forfeiture of assets under Section 56 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds Act 2001, in relation to the misappropriation of assets.

“As of now, assets seized by the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which have been forfeited are cash and interests amounting to RM66.96 million (S$19.5 million) and RM16.06 million, and 40 handbags of various brands with an estimated value in the hundreds of thousands,” she said in a parliamentary written reply on Thursday (June 8).

Ms Azalina was responding to Democratic Action Party’s Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng who asked the government for the total amount of assets and list the types that are linked to the misappropriation of funds from 1MDB.

“The cash amounting to RM66.96 million seized by the police will be channelled into a special trust account under the Finance Ministry, while an estimated amount of RM16.06 million seized by the MACC will be transferred into the government’s revenue account.

“About 40 handbags, which have been forfeited, are in the process of being auctioned off,” she said. THE MALAY MAIL