Court allows Rosmah's bid to appoint an expert to inspect seized jewellery
The High Court in Kuala Lumpur has allowed the application by Rosmah Mansor for a court expert to inspect the amount of jewellery being sought by a Lebanese jeweller, her lawyer Ranjivan Nambiar said.
This is subject to the consent of the central bank, which is keeping the jewellery forfeited during the police investigation into the 1MDB case...
The High Court in Kuala Lumpur has allowed the application by Rosmah Mansor for a court expert to inspect the amount of jewellery being sought by a Lebanese jeweller, her lawyer Ranjivan Nambiar said.
This is subject to the consent of the central bank, which is keeping the jewellery forfeited during the police investigation into the 1MDB case.
"This is subject to the consent of Bank Negara as they said they were worried about the security threat because the jewellery was kept in the vault," Ranjivan told reporters outside the courtroom.
He was recapping what had transpired in the chambers before Judicial Commissioner Wong Chee Lin earlier today.
The court ruled in favour of Rosmah on the basis of the discrepancy related to the jewellery, with the Lebanese jeweller initially saying it had identified four items among the forfeited pieces, while the police said there was only one piece, he said.
"How is the court going to run this case when there are three different versions as to how much jewellery there is," Ranjivan said.
Ranjivan also said his client will appoint a India-based jeweller to inspect the items, given that the jeweller's name had been presented in court and was not challenged in chambers.
The court also ordered the jeweller from Lebanon, Global Royalty Trading SAL, to pay RM75,000 in security costs instead of the sum of RM500,000 applied by Rosmah, her counsel added.
Global Royalty sued the wife to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak on June 26 last year, seeking the return of 44 pieces of jewellery sent to her for selection or to pay the price of all the items amounting to US$14.79 million, or almost RM60 million.
The Lebanese jeweller claimed that on Feb 10, 2018, it sent 44 pieces of jewellery, including diamond necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets and tiaras, each worth between US$124,000 (RM519,183) and US$925,000 (RM3.8 million) to the defendant through a courier via its two agents.
The company said Rosmah confirmed and accepted the terms and conditions in Memorandum No 926 relating to the jewellery.
Global Royalty is seeking the court´s declaration that the firm owns the 44 pieces of jewellery, apart from an order that ownership of the jewellery was not transferred to the former prime minister's wife.
It is also seeking a mandatory order for Rosmah to provide a list of the jewellery seized, for the jewellery to be returned, or for Rosmah to pay the price of the jewellery of US$14.79 million (RM59.83 million).
The court fixed Oct 11 for case management and ruled that the Lebanese jeweller must settle the security cost by then.
Rosmah was also represented by lawyer Reza Rahim, while David Gurupatham acted for the jeweller.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.