Stacks of cash, gold bars, Hublot watches, and another former prime minister in the crosshairs of an anti-corruption investigation – it is Groundhog Day for many Malaysians in a country where politics often comes with a price tag.
On Monday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) named Ismail Sabri Yaakob as a suspect in a corruption case which has also implicated four of his lieutenants after nearly US$38 million worth of euros, yen and dollars were found stacked in plastic-wrapped blocks across several properties in Kuala Lumpur by MACC officials.
MACC said the money, along with gold bars, jewellery and luxury watches, were found in “safe houses” allegedly linked to the former leader, stirring memories among Malaysians of the horde of cash and luxury items uncovered in the investigation of former Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2018 for his role in the 1MDB scandal.
At 15 months, Ismail Sabri’s tenure between August 2021 and November 2022 was the shortest in Malaysia’s history.
The latest raid has reignited public concerns over the alleged high-level corruption and lack of oversight during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ismail Sabri and his four senior officers arrested by the MACC have yet to respond to the raid or public allegations. The names of the officers have not been disclosed.