Ex-Malaysia PM’s wife risks bankruptcy in Lebanese jeweller’s case

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.