KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is currently assessing the total value and ownership of 50 luxury vehicles that may have been purchased with funds from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
MACC’s head of the Anti-Money Laundering Division, Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin, told Scoop that the agency is still collecting information on the vehicles, four of which are high-end, special edition Bugatti Veyron supercars seized in Germany last week.
Media have reported that one of the four vehicles could be owned by 1MDB mastermind and current fugitive, Low Taek Jho, commonly known as Jho Low.
“MACC will be discussing with foreign authorities the next course of action to recover these assets.
“This is because there are differences in jurisdiction and the laws of the countries involved,” he said when contacted today.
MACC’s German counterpart is also assisting Malaysia in gathering evidence on the four Bugatti Veyrons seized from a Munich warehouse.
The seizure of the four cars, which were priced at around US$3 million (RM14.3 million) each at the time of sale, was reported by German publication, Bild, which also quoted sources saying they were linked to the 1MDB scandal.
Subsequently, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed that the four Bugatti Veyrons were among 50 luxury vehicles the agency had been investigating since 2020 for links to 1MDB funds.
MACC had submitted an application for mutual legal assistance (MLA) to Switzerland in November 2020 to obtain information regarding the frozen assets linked to 1MDB, according to Azam.
“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.
“Then in March 2022, a meeting was held with the OAG to discuss the progress of the MLA application and to obtain more information regarding the case,” he said.
The MACC has also requested further information from the German authorities regarding the 1MDB bonds that were allegedly used to buy the luxury cars. – May 6, 2024