In October 2011, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s wife Rosmah Mansor was in London to attend a charity gala organised by leading diamond trader Samer Halimeh at the five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
The gala was a lavish affair, with fashion designers, dignitaries, and royalty being photographed at the event, including the Pahang Sultanah Kalsom Abdullah.
Almost seven years later, Rosmah and Samer are now on opposite sides of the courtroom, with the Lebanese jeweller being part of an RM60 million suit against the former.
In this Kiniguide, Malaysiakini explains what the suit entails, and who is involved in the Lebanese company behind the suit.
What is the suit about?
The suit, filed by Lebanese wholesale jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL on June 26, concerns a consignment of 44 pieces of jewellery which was sent to Rosmah in February and seized by the police in May.
In the court documents, it was stated that the February consignment was delivered to Rosmah by Samer, who was listed as the salesperson and agent, in addition to another individual named Maen Shakhshir.
The company was described as a “world-famous wholesaler of jewellery” whose clientele include royalty and the wealthy around the world. Rosmah was also described as a “long-standing” customer of the company.
Global Royalty claimed that it would send a consignment of jewellery to Rosmah upon her request for her to evaluate. The chosen pieces would then be paid for by her or by a third party. The pieces of jewellery not chosen would be returned, the company said.
In the suit, Global Royalty claimed that it is the rightful owner of the 44 items of jewellery which was seized by the police and sought a mandatory order for the items to be returned, or alternatively, for Rosmah to pay an amount based on the value of the jewellery.
What do we know about Global Royalty?
Currently not much is known about Global Royalty, although it describes itself as world-famous.
Details about the company are scarce on the Internet, though Malaysiakini managed to track down the company’s listing on the Lebanese government’s commercial register.
According to the register, the company, whose address matches that listed in the court documents, was registered on Nov 1, 2017.
The company was described as “carrying out commercial operations in Lebanon and abroad” as well as “carrying out real estate business from the purchase and rentals of apartments and shops”, among others. There was no specific mention of jewellery trading.
The biggest shareholder and the director-general of the company was listed as “Lina Hassib Halimeh”.
Not much else could be discovered about the enigmatic company or the individual named Maen Shakhshir.
What about Samer? Who is he?
Unlike Global Royalty, Samer has an online presence on most forms of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as his own website.
A check through Samer’s Instagram page also revealed that he has not only met Rosmah and the Pahang Sultanah, but also met Sarawak governor Abdul Taib Mahmud (photo) in Monaco in May 2014.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon during the height of the Lebanese Civil War, Samer was described on his website as being “seduced by the lure of the diamond industry in early childhood” and successfully bartered his first diamond when he was 12 years old.
He is now a diamond trader based in New York, US with his own eponymous diamond business.
Who are his clients and what sort of diamonds does he trade?
He has an exclusive list of clients which includes TV personality and mogul Oprah Winfrey, supermodel Naomi Campbell, actress Angelina Jolie and socialite Paris Hilton as well as some members of royalty.
Among some of the diamonds in his collection is the 65-carat emerald cut “Vivo Per Lei” diamond which had belonged to a European nobleman, as well as the 75-carat heart-shaped “The Beating Heart” diamond (photo).
Samer’s website states that the uniqueness of “The Beating Heart” is that he himself will “review the requests that are sent for this stone and will select only the buyer that passes the ‘purity of hearts intent’”.
Where or how can one purchase diamonds from Samer?
According to a description on his website, Samer is reluctant to “oversaturate the market with his creations”.
“Samer values privacy and ironically, despite his success, intentionally remains somewhat elusive.
“...Every single deal he has closed has been one-on-one, with no third parties involved and he reiterates that this aspect of his business will never change.
“As a result, Samer offers private viewings upon request, allowing him scope for what he calls ‘tailored catering’,” the site read.
An attempt to enter the “Private Viewing” section of his site brought Malaysiakini to a password-protected page (photo).
However, Samer has also established five storefront locations, in New York, London, Cannes, Riyadh and at the Starhill Gallery in Kuala Lumpur (photo).
What do we know about the biggest shareholder of Global Royalty, Lina Hassib Halimeh?
Searching for more details on Lina Hassib Halimeh revealed that there is a website for a diamond business called “Lina Halimeh Diamonds”.
According to the website, it appears that Lina Halimeh Diamonds has bases in New York, Los Angeles, London, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Beirut.
Under its “News” page, there is a subsection titled “Samer Halimeh New York”, with a description of Samer’s business and flagship boutique in New York.
Similar to Samer’s website, the “Catalogue” and “Inventory” pages at the Lina Halimeh Diamonds website were password protected (photo).
Is there any connection between Samer Halimeh and Lina Halimeh?
At this moment, it is unclear whether there is a link between the two Halimehs. Malaysiakini has been unable to unearth any verifiable proof that the pair is connected other than through the lawsuit.
What else is there to know?
For now, this is all Malaysiakini has been able to find out about the company behind the lawsuit against Rosmah.
More information about Global Royalty and the key figures in the suit will likely be revealed as the case progresses. -Mkini
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