Customs still probing if Beirut bling for Rosmah was declared

The Customs Department is still investigating if a consignment of jewellery sent earlier this year to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's wife Rosmah Mansor had been declared at its point of entry.

The department's director-general T Subromaniam revealed this when grilled by reporters after an event this morning.

“Not today, not today. We are still investigating,” he answered, declining to elaborate.

Malaysiakini previously reported that a Lebanese jeweller had sent Rosmah a consignment comprising 44 items of
jewellery in February.

The jewellery has since been seized by the police as part of its probe into the 1MDB affair.

Last month, the jewellery firm - Global Royalty Trading SAL - filed a US$14.79 million (RM59.831 million) suit against Rosmah for the return of the 44 items.

The company further claimed that Rosmah, in a letter dated May 22, acknowledged receiving the items.

Rosmah's lawyers had emphasised that she did not purchase any of the jewellery sought by the Lebanese firm.

Jelutong MP RSN Rayer previously asked how the jewellery had passed through the Customs before entering the country. 

"Were these consignments declared to the Customs Department when they were brought into Malaysia?

"Who was the consignee? Was the Customs excise duty paid?

“How is it that these consignments reached Rosmah safely, considering the enormous worth of this jewellery?" the DAP lawmaker had asked. 

-Mkini