This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on February 4, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has allowed former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor to physically inspect the 263 handbags and 40 watches seized by the authorities in May 2018.

Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan ordered the inspection to be done within two weeks from yesterday, at a venue to be chosen by the prosecution and government.

“I also allow that each of them be allowed to be accompanied by one solicitor in conducting the inspection,” said the judge.

Justice Mohamed Zaini, in allowing Najib and Rosmah’s application for leave to inspect those items, said they should be given the opportunity to examine the items that were seized and the fears of the prosecution can be easily allayed as the inspection will be carried out at premises controlled by them.

“I am not able to fathom how the removal of these items [from a vault controlled by Bank Negara Malaysia] would result in their deterioration. This can be done in a controlled environment with the applicant alone be allowed to examine those items in the respondent’s presence.

“Based on the reasons, the court is allowing their application; however, the court would determine at the end the defence’s merit [in challenging the forfeiture] or otherwise,” the judge said.

Justice Mohamed Zaini then asked Najib and Rosmah to file an affidavit by March 2, should they want to contest the forfeiture application.

The judge later allowed one of each of Najib and Rosmah’s solicitors to be present at the inspection, on the request of Najib’s counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

The items were seized by the authorities from several premises in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, right after the 14th general election.

They are said to be worth RM10 million from the RM31 million forfeiture claim that the authorities filed against Najib, Rosmah, their children Nooryana Najwa and Norashman, and Najib’s stepson Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz.

Also named in the forfeiture suit were former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng Chong Hwa and his wife Lim Hwee Bin, Low Taek Jho’s (Jho Low) known associate Kee Kok Thiam, and Rembulan Kembara Sdn Bhd, whose registered shareholder is Jho Low’s father Tan Sri Larry Low, from which the government managed to seize a total of RM1.99 million after Maybank dropped its claim on them following purported debts.

It was reported on Aug 30 that the bank wanted to claim a total of RM1.99 million from the four as the government had filed forfeiture action against them. The bank is seeking the amount following alleged loans taken by the four of them and wanted to stake its claim.

The police claimed Kee had left the country while the whereabouts of Larry Low along with his wife and Jho Low’s mother, Goh Gaik Ewe, are also unknown.

The government is seeking to recover 263 pieces of branded handbags, 40 pieces of branded watches, 27 pairs of branded shoes, cash in various denominations including some RM725,000, 26 Nissan Urvan vehicles and a Nissan X-Trail from these individuals.

Besides Muhammad Shafee appearing for Najib, lawyer Iskandar Shah Ibrahim came for Rosmah, while deputy public prosecutors Fatnin Yusof and Harris Ong Mohd Jeffrey Ong appeared for the prosecution.

Najib and Rosmah filed separate discovery applications to examine those items seized after the authorities had removed them from the original boxes that they came with.

They contended that identifying those items via photographs was difficult.

The prosecution objected to the applications on the grounds of security as the items were kept in a secured vault in Bank Negara Malaysia and that examination of items forfeited had not been done before.

Furthermore, they argued that removing them from the vault would depreciate the value of the branded items.

Besides this, the prosecution had also filed separate forfeiture proceedings against Obyu Holdings Sdn Bhd to retrieve some RM680 million worth of items that were also seized from the same premises by the police.