KUALA LUMPUR (July 2): A lawsuit claiming over RM1 billion from Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor is getting a new presiding judge — its fourth since the case was filed two years ago.
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Muhammad Adam @ Edward Abdullah will be taking over the case filed by 1Malaysia Development Bhd from judge Datuk Wan Muhammad Amin Wan Yahya following his transfer to the International Commercial and Admiralty Division of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
The parties were informed about the change on July 1 and case management before the new judge has been set for July 8, said Lee Shih from Messrs Lim Chee Wee Partnership who represents the now defunct state investment fund also known as 1MDB. Rosmah’s lawyer, Datuk Seri Rajan Navaratnam, also confirmed that the case has been transferred to Adam.
In June 2024, 1MDB and its subsidiaries filed a US$346 million civil suit against Rosmah, the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, alleging funds misappropriated from 1MDB were used to purchase luxury goods, including jewellery and handbags.
The case revolves around Rosmah's alleged purchase of about 12,000 pieces of jewellery and luxury handbags from 48 vendors in 14 countries using funds allegedly diverted from 1MDB and its then subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The companies claim that the transactions were part of a larger fraud scheme to transfer funds out of Malaysia and into entities with no connection to the companies' investment objectives in offshore jurisdictions.
Those transactions, they said, served only to act as a conduit for diverting funds to obscure final destinations.
One of Muhammad Amin’s decisions in the case was disallowing Singaporean Shabnam Naraindas Daswani’s affidavit in support of 1MDB’s application for a Mareva injunction to be imposed on Rosmah last November.
Shabnam was initially named as a defendant for having purchased or procured the luxury goods for Rosmah but later was dropped. 1MDB is appealing the decision at the Court of Appeal and the matter is pending.
The plaintiffs are seeking recovery of the luxury goods, their traceable proceeds, and a declaration that Rosmah received them for no consideration; the alternative compensation of US$346 million as the total cost of the luxury goods; and a court order to freeze Rosmah’s assets worth US$346 million.
The lawsuit follows a failed forfeiture application by the authorities after a highly publicised raid on a condominium at Pavilion Residences, Kuala Lumpur in May 2018.
The police had seized over 12,000 pieces of jewellery, several hundred handbags, and watches during the raid.
Last month, the High Court found Rosmah liable for 43 "missing" pieces of jewellery consigned to her by a Lebanese jeweller in 2018.
Judge Datuk Quay Chew Soon ordered her to pay Global Royalty Trading SAL RM67.46 million within a month of the decision and granted cost of RM75,000 to be paid to the jeweller.
Read also:
Court rules Rosmah liable for missing jewellery, orders her to pay about RM67 mil to Lebanese jeweller
High Court disallows 1MDB from using Shabnam’s affidavit to support Mareva injunction application on Rosmah
Third judge takes over 1MDB's US$346 mil suit against Rosmah and Singaporean woman