KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 ― Bukit Aman said it has solid evidence to prove money from state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was used to buy a pink diamond even though the jewel itself has not been found.
The police assertion follows Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s repeated claim to have been slandered as the buyer of the US$23 million (RM94.6 million) gem by critics of her husband, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to bury his political career.
“There is money trail evidence of the purchase of the US$23 million ‘pink diamond’ from a jeweller in New York using money from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
“Even though the ‘pink diamond’ was not found during the police raid, there is clear evidence to show the existence of the purchase transaction,” Senior Assistant Commissioner Datuk Khalil Azlan Chik who heads Bukit Aman anti-money laundering investigation team said in a media statement today after social media buzz over the pink diamond.
Najib who is still Pekan MP had recently claimed vindication that his wife had not bought a pink diamond as alleged by his critics, but Damansara MP Tony Pua has countered and accused the ex-Barisan Nasional leader of misleading the public as there were two different pink diamonds being discussed.
The police did not clarify which pink diamond in its statement.
Rosmah too had claimed two days ago to have been disproved in allegations that she had bought a pink diamond, which she said was being spread by Najib’s critics for him to be voted out of office.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday the diamond was not purchased in Malaysia despite being brought into the country.
The deputy minister said the jewellery agents had declared the diamond among 40 over pieces of precious stones meant for the wife of a prominent person.
However, the agent also declared the same jewellery to have exited the country, indicating no sale was made.
Last year, Najib claimed the pink diamond pendant was a gift from Prince Sheikh Mansour, brother of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Zayed.
