This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 17, 2019
KUALA LUMPUR: The trial involving Lebanese jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL’s US$14.79 million (RM60 million) suit against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, which was scheduled to begin next Tuesday, is in limbo as the High Court here will only decide on that day if the matter will proceed.
The stay of the trial was filed by Rosmah’s lawyers — Rajivan Nambiar and Mohd Reza Rahim — last Friday after the government filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision last month to allow the appointment of an independent jeweller to identify 44 pieces of jewellery. The government, however, did not apply for a stay.
However, Global Royalty’s lawyer Datuk David Gurupatham objected the stay, saying that their case was only to recover the 44 pieces of jewellery. He added that he has to seek further instructions from his client Samir Halimeh to file an affidavit to object the stay as the hearing of Global Royalty’s suit is already scheduled.
As a result, Gurupatham and Rajivan said Justice Wong Chee Lin will hear Rosmah’s stay application next Tuesday morning, and make a decision on the application then.
If the court rules that the trial should proceed, it will start in the afternoon.
The hearing of Global Royalty’s suit has been fixed for three days on Oct 22-24.
Gurupatham said they would have three witnesses, including the Lebanese jeweller Samir.
‘Government should support appointment of independent jeweller’
Rajivan said the government should have supported the court’s ruling on the appointment of an independent jeweller to identify the jewellery allegedly handed by Global Royalty to Rosmah, which the former prime minister’s wife now contends are with the police.
To complicate matters, the government in its forfeiture suit filed by the police commercial crime unit had named a company called OBYU Holdings Sdn Bhd — and not Rosmah — as the owner of the condominium unit containing approximately 12,000 pieces of jewellery that were seized in May last year.
Hence, Rajivan said questions have been raised on whether Rosmah should have been named in the suit in the first place, and pointed out that Global Royalty should have intervened in the forfeiture claim involving OBYU Holdings to recover its jewellery.
Meanwhile, Gurupatham said his client Samir had identified four pieces Global Royalty had purportedly sent to Rosmah, out of the pieces seized by the police last February.
The firm had also filed to intervene in the forfeiture suit against OBYU Holdings and Rosmah.
“Nevertheless, what we are claiming is the return of the 44 items or the RM60 million payment for those items,” he added.
Complicating the case further, Rajivan and Mohd Reza said while Samir claimed to have identified four pieces of jewellery, police investigating officer Deputy Superintendent Foo Yee Min said in his affidavit that he could only identify one of the items.
“Hence, it is beyond comprehension why the government filed the appeal over the court’s ruling for an independently appointed jeweller hired by the court to verify all these items. As the government did not file for a stay, we are forced to apply for a stay of the trial as it is affecting our client,” they said.
Global Royalty filed the suit on June 26 last year, demanding Rosmah return the 44 pieces of jewellery sent to her for her viewing or pay the total costs for them.
The jeweller claimed that on Feb 10 last year, it sent 44 pieces of jewellery — including a diamond necklace, earrings, rings, bracelets and a tiara — each worth between US$124,000 and US$925,000, to Rosmah by hand, through two of its agents.
The firm alleged that Rosmah had confirmed and acknowledged receiving the items, but said they were no longer in her custody as they had been seized by the Malaysian authorities.