KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — Lebanese jeweller Samer Halimeh today said he felt vindicated after winning an eight-year legal battle against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, whom the High Court ordered to pay RM67.5 million over 43 missing pieces of luxury jewellery.

The founder of Global Royalty Trading SAL described the ruling as proof of the Malaysian judiciary’s independence after years of challenges to both his claim and personal credibility, the New Straits Times reported today.

“I am pleased with the outcome. The Malaysian courts have shown again that they are independent,” Halimeh was quoted as saying.

The 51-year-old businessman said the case had been marked by allegations that the claim was fabricated and attempts to discredit him.

“It took eight years to get to this result, with many hurdles, including negative social media campaigns by certain quarters claiming that the company and the claim were fake,” he was quoted as saying.

Halimeh said he was grateful to his legal team for seeing the case through and hoped the matter could now be resolved.

“Not many people believed I would get justice in Malaysia. Justice has prevailed,” he added.

Last Tuesday, the High Court ordered Rosmah to pay RM67,461,027.37 within a month after finding her liable for failing to return 43 pieces of jewellery supplied on a consignment basis.

Halimeh’s lawyer, Datuk David Gurupatham, said his client would pursue all available legal avenues to recover the award, including bankruptcy proceedings as a last resort.

The dispute centred on 44 pieces of luxury jewellery worth US$14.57 million that Global Royalty said were delivered to Rosmah in 2018 for viewing under a consignment arrangement.

The court found Rosmah had received the jewellery, did not purchase or pay for it, and failed to return 43 pieces.

Only one item – a diamond and emerald bracelet – was eventually recovered and returned to the Lebanese company following separate forfeiture proceedings.

In its ruling, the High Court said Rosmah failed to account for the missing jewellery and did not prove her claim that the pieces had been seized during a 2018 police raid linked to investigations into her husband, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — The High Court today ordered Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor to pay RM67.4 million — the estimated value of 43 jewellery pieces delivered to her in February 2018 — to their Lebanese owner.

High Court judge Quay Chew Soon granted the suit filed by Global Royalty Trading SAL against her, which sought to recover the 43 jewellery items or their claimed value of US$14.6 million after the items were seized during a police raid at Pavilion Residences in 2018.

Quay said the court found Rosmah liable for the missing jewellery pieces.

"After a full trial, I allowed the plaintiff's claim against the defendant.

"I ordered the defendant to pay the sum of RM67,461,027.37 to the plaintiff within one month from the date hereof," he said when delivering his decision.

Quay said the court also dismissed Rosmah’s claim for indemnity against PDRM, which was brought in as third parties in the proceedings.

Global Royalty filed the suit in 2023, seeking the return of the items or payment for their value after claiming the items were supplied to Rosmah on a consignment basis but were never returned.

MORE TO COME

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has denied allegations linking her and her family to an alleged US$13 million (RM53 million) property transaction, saying she had lodged a police report and would pursue legal action against those responsible for disseminating the claims online.

In a statement issued today in response to videos circulating on social media, the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said she had no involvement, either directly or indirectly, in the acquisition, transfer or ownership of any luxury property, including one allegedly valued at US$13 million.

She also rejected claims that she had used shell companies, offshore financial structures or intermediaries to facilitate transactions on behalf of her son-in-law or any other individual.

“The allegations purporting to implicate me in the use of shell companies, offshore financial structures, or associations with any of the individuals or entities named in these videos are wholly without foundation, utterly false, and maliciously fabricated,” the statement said.

Rosmah said the videos had harmed her family’s reputation.

She said a police report had been lodged on June 14 to enable authorities to investigate those responsible for creating and disseminating the material.

Rosmah added that she would cooperate fully with investigators.

She also called on social media platforms to remove the content and prevent its further circulation, arguing that the allegations amounted to defamation and malicious falsehood.

The statement further warned that legal action could be taken against individuals who had published, republished or continued to share the claims online.

“I hereby reserve all rights available to me at law, including the right to institute civil and pursue criminal proceedings against any individual or party who has published, republished, shared, or continues to disseminate these false and injurious allegations,” it said.

Rosmah urged both the public and media organisations to exercise restraint and avoid amplifying unverified information while investigations are ongoing.

The statement did not identify the individuals behind the videos or elaborate on the specific allegations beyond references to an alleged luxury property transaction and purported offshore arrangements.

MALAYSIA: The wife of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, Rosmah Mansor, is now faced with a dilemma of paying RM67.5 million (S$21.6 million) or going bankrupt.

The fate of Rosmah is now in the hands of a Lebanese jeweller, Global Royalty Trading SAL Ltd, which said it will use all available legal channels to recover the RM67.5 million from Rosmah, including bankruptcy proceedings as a last resort.

Senior lawyer David Gurupatham, representing the company, said his client intends to fully enforce the High Court’s judgment against the self-proclaimed former First Lady of Malaysia.

“We will enforce the judgment until every cent is recovered or she is declared bankrupt. That is my client’s instruction,” he said to the English language daily, The New Straits Times, yesterday.

Yesterday, the High Court ordered Rosmah Mansor to pay the amount to the Lebanon-based jeweller within one month for 43 pieces of jewellery that were not returned to them.

Rosmah claimed that the missing 43 pieces were seized by the authorities during a raid on May 17, 2018, at a unit in Pavilion where she was staying.

Justice Quay Chew Soon said 44 pieces of jewellery were delivered to the defendant, Rosmah, in February, 2018, for viewing under a consignment arrangement.

The court also dismissed Rosmah’s third-party claim against the Inspector-General of Police and the government, in which she alleged the jewellery was seized during police raids in 2018.

Meanwhile, Rosmah’s lawyer Rajivan Nambiar said they will apply for a stay of execution and file an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

While the Lebanese firm intends to get its money or jewellery back at all costs, David, its lawyer, stressed that bankruptcy proceedings are not an immediate step if Rosmah fails to comply with the court order within one month.

“We will only apply for bankruptcy if all efforts to enforce the judgment to recover the debt fail,” he said.

This article (Ex-Malaysia PM’s wife risks bankruptcy in Lebanese jeweller’s case) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.