Shaariibuugiin Altantuyaa

Shaariibuugiin Altantuyaa (Mongolian: Шаарийбуугийн Алтантуяа; sometimes also Altantuya Shaariibuu; 6 May 1978 – 18 October 2006), a Mongolian national, was a murder victim who was either murdered by PETN and RDX explosives or was somehow killed first and her remains destroyed with explosives on 18 October 2006 in a deserted area in Shah Alam, Malaysia.

Her murder case is significant in contemporary Malaysian politics due to the alleged involvement of persons close to the former Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak.

Altantuyaa was born in 1978.

She and her sister were raised in the Soviet Union where Altantuyaa attended first grade in elementary school.

She was reportedly fluent in Mongolian, Russian, Chinese and English, and knew some French.

Altantuyaa moved back to Mongolia in 1990 and a few years later, married a Mongolian techno singer named Maadai.

Records indicate that she visited Malaysia at least twice; the first time in 1995 and the second in early 2006.

It was alleged that she was introduced by the former Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, to Abdul Razak Baginda, a defence analyst from the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, at an international diamond convention in Hong Kong, and had a relationship with Baginda while accompanying him to Paris to work as a translator during his negotiations to purchase Scorpène-class submarines from France for the Malaysian government.

Hong Kong-based news website Asia Sentinel revealed in a series of photographs that Altantuyaa was in France during which time the two quickly became romantically involved.

However, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the Malaysia Today editor, was the one who connected Najib Razak with the Altantuyaa murders.

Najib Razak denied all allegations as there were no concrete proof about him knowing Altantuyaa.

Raja Petra retracted his allegation of the involvement of Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor after the case were brought to court.

Afraid of being prosecuted by the Malaysian courts for giving a false statement, Raja Petra fled to England, leaving his wife and children behind.

In addition, a former aide to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Muhamad Rahimi Osman, claimed that Sirul's family was enticed to make a false statement that Najib was involved in Altantuyaa's murder.

According to reports by the French newspaper Liberation, Altantuyaa found out that one of the parties involved in negotiations, French company Armaris, paid out commissions of 114 million euros for the deal (reportedly one billion euros or RM4.7 billion for the purchase of three submarines).

The commission was credited in the accounts of a company controlled by Abdul Razak, Perimekar.

A letter written by Altantuyaa and found after her death shows that she had been blackmailing Mr. Baginda, seeking US$500,000 to remain silent about her knowledge of the deal.

They had a child in 1996 but the marriage ended in divorce and the child was sent to live with Altantuyaa's parents.

Despite training as a teacher, Altantuyaa briefly relocated to France to attend modelling school, before returning to Mongolia.

Her mother has however said that her daughter had, to her knowledge, never worked as a model.

An article from The Star reported that when the deal was signed on 5 June 2002 between the Malaysian government and the submarine manufacturers, Abdul Razak Baginda had not met Altantuyaa as they only met two years after the agreement was signed.

Altantuyaa remarried and had another child in 2003, but the second marriage also ended in divorce.

The second child was also put in the care of Altantuyaa's parents.

She worked as a translator and often travelled out of Mongolia to countries like China, Singapore and Malaysia.

When it was realised she was missing on 19 October 2006, her cousin lodged a police report and sought help from the Mongolian embassy in Bangkok.

The Malaysian police found fragments of bone, later verified as hers, in forested land near the Subang Dam in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam.

Police investigation of her remains revealed that she was shot twice before C-4 explosives were used on her remains, although there has been later suggestion that the C-4 explosives may have killed her.

However, lab results confirmed the explosives used was PETN and RDX, a type of explosive used in quarries which could have been sourced from nearby quarries.

When her remains were found their identity could only be confirmed with a DNA test.

The Shah Alam High Court originally acquitted Abdul Razak Baginda and meted out the death sentence to two of the accused, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, on 9 April 2009, wrapping up the 159-day trial.

SUARAM secretariat, Cynthia Gabriel, commented that the Paris Courts have "extended its investigations with circumstances that led to Altantuyaa's death. However, the French Courts are not investigating the murder of Altantuyaa as its focus is on the alleged corruption conducted by DCNS with regards to the sale of the Scorpène submarines, but would deliberate on the murder in the course of the inquiry. On 25 June 2012, a French police investigation revealed that there were no immigration records of an “Altantuyaa Shaariibuu” entering France from 1999 to 2006. The same report noted instead the entry of a SHAARIYBUU Bayasgalan, who bore similarities to, but was not conclusively identified as Altantuyaa, as well as pointed out that Najib's entourage might have entered France through diplomatic channels as there was evidence of his presence but no corresponding immigration record. During the trial into Altantuyaa's death, Baginda told investigators that he had travelled with her to France in 2005.

Records seized by French investigators from DCN's former financial chief described Altantuyaa as Baginda's translator.

On the other hand, Rosana Weili, the Director of Perimekar, claimed that the negotiations were conducted in English as the French negotiators spoke English.

Rosana also had "no knowledge of anyone by the name of Altantuyaa" in the negotiation team.

On 23 August 2013, Sirul and Azilah were acquitted by the Court of Appeal, sparking controversy.

After the Malaysian 14th general election marking a historic defeat for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and some relevant parties including Altantuyaa's father have hoped for further investigations to find the motive of murder and bring justice to the case.

Sirul said he was willing to reveal what really happened in the murder case provided he was given a full pardon to come back to Malaysia.

On 13 January 2015, the Federal Court overturned the acquittal of both individuals, finding them both guilty of murder and sentenced both of them to death.

However, Sirul fled to Australia and efforts by the Malaysian authorities to extradite him were hampered by existing Australian legislation prohibiting the extradition of individuals to countries with the death penalty.

On 16 December 2019, convicted killer Azilah Hadri alleged from death row in Kajang Prison that the order to kill Altantuyaa Shaariibuu came from former Prime Minister Najib Razak and the latter's close associate, Abdul Razak Baginda.