"We are instructed by our client to state that any attempt by the Lebanese firm to enforce or execute the said judgement shall be resisted vigorously by our client. Therefore, our client considers that any attempt by Global Royalty to enforce or execute the said judgement at this juncture is premature, especially when our client’s appeal has yet to be heard and determined by the appellate court.” — Law firm Messrs Reza Rahim & Rajivan.
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor will vigorously resist a Lebanese jewellery firm’s bid to enforce a High Court judgement in June which had ordered her to pay the firm RM67.5 million over 43 missing pieces of jewellery that had been sent to her in February 2018.
Law firm Messrs Reza Rahim & Rajivan, representing Rosmah, the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in a statement on Wednesday said their client maintains that Lebanese jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL’s claim is unsubstantiated and without any basis in fact and law.
“Furthermore, our client has also appealed the High Court’s decision to the Court of Appeal, and our client’s appeal is fixed for hearing on March 25 next year.
“We are instructed by our client to state that any attempt by the Lebanese firm to enforce or execute the said judgement shall be resisted vigorously by our client. Therefore, our client considers that any attempt by Global Royalty to enforce or execute the said judgement at this juncture is premature, especially when our client’s appeal has yet to be heard and determined by the appellate court,” the firm said.
Several media had reported that the jeweller’s counsel, Datuk David Gurupatham of Messrs David Gurupatham and Koay, had said that he may file bankruptcy proceedings against Rosmah for not complying with the court order, which led Rosmah’s lawyers to issue the statement on Wednesday.
On June 10, High Court judge Datuk Quay Chew Soon had found Rosmah liable for the loss of the jewellery sent to her in 2018, and ordered her to pay Global Royalty RM67,461,027.37 within a month of the decision and granted cost of RM75,000 to be paid to the jeweller.
On Aug 12, Judicial Commissioner Marianne Antoinette Ghani ruled that Rosmah must deposit RM67.46 million into a stakeholder’s account within a month of her court order.
On Sept 23, a three-member Court of Appeal bench led by Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril dismissed Rosmah’s appeal to make the payment, as it ruled that there were no grounds that warranted the appellate bench granting an unconditional stay.
Meanwhile, when contacted by The Edge, David said that Rosmah had not paid any sum to the stakeholder’s account, despite her appeal for the conditional stay being dismissed, which meant that the Aug 12 decision requiring her to pay within 30 days stands.
“The 30 days has lapsed, but our client agreed to hold (stay) their hand, pending the appeal (over the conditional stay), in good faith and on a without prejudice basis, [but the] appeal was dismissed last month.
“We have been doing the investigation, confirming her assets and preparing the necessary papers, which will be filed shortly,” the lawyer said, without indicating when the action would be filed.
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