KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 3): The High Court has fixed April 13 to 17 next year as hearing dates for the Lebanese firm Global Royalty Trading SAL’s US$14.57 million (RM68.30 million) lawsuit against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and also her claim to include the police and government as third parties in the suit.
The dates were fixed following case management on Wednesday before newly-appointed Judicial Commissioner Dr Seow Hock Peng.
Seow replaces judge Ong Chee Kuan who has been elevated to the Court of Appeal.
When contacted by The Edge, Global Royalty’s lawyer, Venothani Raja Gopal of Messrs David Gurupatham & Koay, confirmed the hearing dates for the main suit and the third-party proceedings brought by Rosmah. A case management date has also been fixed for Jan 6, 2026.
Lawyer Nur Aiman Sharizal from Messrs Reza Rahim & Ranjivan, representing Rosmah, confirmed the hearing dates, and told The Edge that the court has also fixed Oct 23 this year for hearing Rosmah’s application to amend her defence.
Global Royalty had refiled its suit against Rosmah in April 2023. It claimed the 43 pieces of jewellery had gone missing while in the possession of the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, alleging a breach of contract for the jewellery that were handed to her in February 2018.
The firm had previously filed the suit against Rosmah in June 2018, but had withdrawn it in October 2019 following the government's forfeiture of the valuable items and cash it seized from both the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur condominium and Rosmah's residence at Jalan Langgak Duta, Kuala Lumpur.
Claiming to have A-list clients like Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie, the firm is seeking the return of the 43 pieces of jewellery or their equivalent in monetary value under its suit.
In her defence, Rosmah argued that if any of the pieces of jewellery was lost, the police or the Malaysian government should be held responsible.
She also claimed that the jewellery were in the authorities' possession at all relevant times, and is seeking compensation and/or contribution from the police and government for the reliefs sought by the jeweller.
Following that, Rosmah had brought in the police and government as third parties in the suit. While she had initially failed to bring in the police and government, her appeal was allowed by the Court of Appeal on March 27 this year by a three-member bench led by Datuk P Ravinthran.
Meanwhile, in another court, High Court judge Wan Muhammad Amin Wan Yahya adjourned the hearing over the admission of Singaporean Shabnam Naraindas Daswani’s affidavit in support of 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s US346 million suit and Mareva injunction against Rosmah to Sept 10.
Initially, the continued hearing to admit Shabnam’s affidavit, which was filed out of time, was scheduled for Wednesday.
Read also:
Lebanese firm refiles missing jewellery suit against Rosmah
Rosmah fails to rope in police, govt as third parties in suit for missing jewellery
Rosmah wins appeal to rope in police, govt in Lebanese jeweller's lawsuit against her
1MDB’s move to admit Shabnam’s affidavit and Mareva injunction on Rosmah fixed for hearing on July 31