KUALA LUMPUR: An investigating officer has been called to present himself at the High Court here today to explain the status of 44 pieces of jewellery worth US$14.79 million or almost RM60 million in the possession of Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor which were allegedly seized by the police last year.
Lawyer, N. Rajivan, representing Rosmah said Judicial Commissioner Wong Chee Lin also ordered Supt Foo Wei Min, who is also head of Bukit Aman anti-money laundering crime investigation team, to explain why the court order for the former prime minister’s wife to check and confirm the 44 pieces of jewellery was not adhered to.
Foo in his previous supporting affidavit stated that the team had yet to confirm that all the 44 pieces of jewellery were part of the 12,000 valuable items seized by the police.
Rajivan said the suit filed against his client could not proceed until the police could explain whether the jewellery were in their custody.
“Therefore, we are requesting for the legal suit proceeding to be postponed until May 2019,” the lawyer told reporters after the hearing of Rosmah’s application to postpone the case yesterday.
Counsel Datuk David Gurupatham who was acting for the Lebanese wholesale jeweller, Global Royalty Trading SAL, however, said they still think that the hearing for the case slated for March 4 and 5 should proceed as scheduled.
On Feb 14, the High Court ordered Rosmah to check and confirm in seven days the existence of the 44 pieces of jewellery in her possession which were allegedly seized by police.
On June 26, 2018, Global Royalty as the plaintiff filed a suit against Rosmah as the defendant to demand the return of 44 pieces of jewellery sent to her for selection or pay the price for all the items amounting to US$14.79 million or almost RM60 million.
In its statement of claim, Global Royalty claimed that on Feb 10 2018, they sent 44 pieces of jewellery including diamond necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets and tiaras, each worth between US$124,000 and US$925,000 to the defendant with hand carry courier via its two agents. The company said during the delivery, Rosmah confirmed and accepted the terms as well as conditions in Memorandum No. 926 relating to the jewellery.
The company alleged that Rosmah in a letter dated May 22, 2018, also confirmed and acknowledged receiving the jewellery concerned but said all the jewellery were no longer in her possession, and they had been confiscated and were now being kept by the Malaysian authorities.
Global Royalty is seeking the court’s declaration that the firm was the owner of the 44 pieces of jewellery apart from the order that ownership of the jewellery was not transferred to the defendant.
It is also seeking a mandatory order for Rosmah to provide a list of 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). — Bernama