Criminal Families

© Provided by The Malaysian Insider Maira Nazarbayeva, the mother of Datuk Seri Najib Razak's son-in-law, is in the spotlight after allegedly using the prime minister's name to threaten the president of a business. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, November 20, 2015.
Maira Nazarbayeva, the mother of Datuk Seri Najib Razak's son-in-law, has reportedly used the prime minister's name after being accused of taking a dozen Hermes handbags worth US$400,000 (RM1.7 million) without paying for them.

The New York Post reported yesterday that Maira, who was accused several years ago of being a confidence trickster, had ordered the bags from the Financial District business Samilor in 2014 and 2015 but never paid up.

Citing a Manhattan federal suit, the daily said when confronted, Maira had allegedly threatened to hurt Samilor president Bella Belkin and her family.

"You know who my son is! He is son-in-law of the prime minister of Malaysia!" Maira was reported as saying.

"I will hurt you and your family if you sue me!"

Maira is married to fertiliser tycoon Bolat Nazarbayev, brother of the Kazakhstan president. Her son, Daniyar Nazarbayev, is married to Najib's daughter, Nooryana Najwa.

This is not the first time Maira and her son have been in the limelight. In 2012, they were accused of cheating Bolat of a US$20 million condominium home on Wall Street.

Maira denied the accusations, saying the reports had arisen due to "a private family matter" being "manipulated and exploited by parties with political interests".

In the same year, The New York Post reported that Maira's marriage to Bolat had been annulled after Bolat found out his wife was allegedly wanted by Interpol for a variety of crimes including kidnapping and extortion. However, Maira maintains that her marriage is still intact.

In a separate case, Daniyar was also accused of having fudged his academic qualifications to get into Columbia University in the United States.