Why is govt stymieing inspection of bling, asks Rosmah’s lawyer
Rajivan Nambiar says it is unusual that Putrajaya is appealing against a High Court ruling but has not filed for a stay of trial.
KUALA LUMPUR: Rosmah Mansor’s lawyer today questioned the government’s refusal to allow an independent, court-appointed expert to inspect four pieces of jewellery seized by the police last year.
Rajivan Nambiar said Putrajaya had found it fit to appeal against the ruling by High Court judge Wong Chee Lin but had not filed for a stay of trial.
“This is bizarre as a party that is appealing against a court ruling would also file an application to postpone the trial,” he told reporters after case management in Wong’s chambers.
As a result, he said, Rosmah was forced to file a stay application to stop the trial of Lebanese jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL, which is seeking the return of 44 pieces of jewellery.
He said Supt Foo Wei Min, who heads Bukit Aman’s Special Investigations Division of the Anti-Money Laundering Team, had affirmed in an affidavit that only one of the 44 pieces of jewellery are in police custody.
“The police then asked us to get a court order to inspect the jewellery, which we did.”
Wong allowed Rosmah’s application on Sept 17, subject to the consent of Bank Negara Malaysia due to security issues as the jewellery is being kept in a vault.
Rajivan said federal counsel Ashraf Hamid only informed the court last Friday that the government had filed an appeal.
As a result, he said, Rosmah filed the stay application on Monday which had delayed the trial.
Wong had earlier fixed Oct 20 to 24 for the jeweller’s case against Rosmah, who is the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak.
The government is the second defendant in the suit over the 44 items of jewellery seized by the police from Najib’s residence in Pavilion last year.
Lawyer David Gurupatham, representing the jeweller, said diamond trader Samer Halimeh would file an affidavit in reply to Rosmah’s application to stay the trial pending the outcome of the government’s appeal.
“The judge (Wong) will then hear the application on Tuesday morning (Oct 22) and proceed with the trial should Rosmah fail to get the stay,” he said.
The suit in question was filed by Global Royalty, which claimed to have sent the 44 pieces of jewellery worth about RM60 million to Rosmah through a courier and two of its agents on Feb 10, 2018.
The company said Rosmah had confirmed and accepted its terms and conditions.
It also claimed that Rosmah, in a letter dated May 22, 2018, confirmed and acknowledged receiving the jewellery but said the items were no longer in her possession as they had been confiscated by the Malaysian authorities.
Global Royalty is seeking a court declaration that it owns the jewellery and that ownership of the items was not transferred to Rosmah.
In June last year, then-Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Amar Singh told a news conference that RM1 billion worth of cash, jewellery and valuables was seized from Najib’s residence.
Amar said RM116.7 million in cash in different denominations were found in 35 bags, as well as 12,000 items of jewellery including rings and diamond earrings estimated to cost RM440 million in 25 bags.
Amar said these included 1,400 chains, 2,200 rings, 2,800 pairs of earrings and 14 tiaras. The most valuable piece of jewellery was a white diamond necklace estimated to cost RM6.4 million.
There were also 567 handbags, including luxury names such as Hermes, Chanel and Bijan.
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A total of 423 watches worth RM78 million were also seized, brands like Rolex, Chopard and Richard Mille.