Malaysian police raided former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's home and other premises linked to him overnight Wednesday, amid speculation he may be charged over his role in a financial scandal involving state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

During a drama played out live on television and social media, over a dozen police vehicles were seen entering the compound of Najib's private residence in Kuala Lumpur at 10:15 p.m. and investigators were still there Thursday evening.

Najib's lawyer Harpal Singh Grewal said in a statement that his client fully cooperated as 50 to 60 police officers from the commercial crime division searched the house.

He said police carted away three boxes of personal items including handbags and clothing, while spending hours drilling open a safe box that had been locked for decades because of a missing key.

(Former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak)

"This harassment has now continued for almost 18 hours and nothing meaningful has come from the search and seizure of what appear to be insignificant personal items," Harpal said.

Online news portal Malaysiakini said a police truck left the residence late Thursday afternoon "stacked with turquoise-colored boxes."

Elsewhere in the city, police also raided the luxury Pavilion Residences, where Najib's family owns two condominium units.

Local media said searches were also conducted at his former official residence Sri Perdana and at the Prime Minister's Office, both in the federal administrative capital of Putrajaya.

Najib, once known as the "Teflon" prime minister for his ability to cling to power, ruled for a decade from April 2009 despite his tenure being riddled with a host of scandals.

(Najib leaving a polling station after depositting his ballot)

The seismic May 9 general election saw his 61-year old National Front coalition nearly wiped out by a rag-tag coalition led by Mahathir Mohamad, who was Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister and Najib's former mentor.

Mahathir's four-party Alliance of Hope had pledged to reopen the 1MDB case if it was voted into power and after Mahathir was sworn-in as prime minister again last Thursday, he wasted no time to act.

The new government on Thursday announced the setting up of a special committee to look into the 1MDB case.

"Until and unless the issue of 1MDB is resolved, there will be questions that undermine public confidence in the government and its institutions," the government said in a press release.

The five-member committee is headed by former Attorney General Abu Talib Othman.

Earlier, Mahathir had ordered travel bans on Najib, his wife and several others involved in the fund scandal.

(Mahathir Mohamad)

He met senior police officers, including federal commercial crime investigation chief Amar Singh, and with former Attorney General Gani Patail, who led a task force to probe the alleged $700 million that went into Najib's personal bank account in 2013 that was said to have originated from 1MDB.

Gani was sacked by Najib in July 2015, barely two weeks after the task force began its job.

His replacement, Mohamad Apandi Ali, later cleared Najib of any criminal offense and declared that the massive sum was a "personal donation" from the Saudi royal family.

Mahathir told reporters Wednesday that Gani informed him that he was preparing to charge Najib before he was fired.

The prime minister said he would let the law take its course and not strike any deal with Najib.

"There will definitely be no deal. We will follow the rule of law, irrespective of personalities," he said.

According to an Auditor General's report on 1MDB that was finally declassified on Tuesday, mismanagement and dubious dealings led to 1MDB incurring debt to the tune of almost 42 billion ringgit ($10.58 billion) up to March 2014.

It said 1MDB's activities at present would not generate enough revenue to pay off its debt.

The fund was founded by Najib in 2009. The brain behind its operation is reportedly tycoon Low Taek Jho, a close family friend.

The fund is now the subject of investigations in various countries including the United States, Switzerland and Singapore.

U.S. authorities said an estimated $4.5 billion had been embezzled from the fund by Low and his cronies, including Najib's stepson Riza Aziz, to spend on luxury condominiums in New York and London, fund Hollywood movies, and purchase jewelry and art pieces.