Court allows Najib to inspect items seized in 1MDB-linked forfeiture suit

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has allowed Najib Abdul Razak’s application to physically inspect items seized by the authorities as part of the government’s 1MDB-linked RM680 million forfeiture suit against Obyu Holdings.

Justice Muhammad Jamil Hussin allowed the application by the former premier’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah during open-court proceedings this morning.

Shafee had made the application to allow his client to properly prepare a third-party application to contest the forfeiture suit against Obyu Holdings.

When met after proceedings, DPP Faten Hadni Khairuddin confirmed the outcome of proceedings, explaining that the court allowed an inspection to take place on two occasions.

“The first inspection involving non-jewellery items will be done first. Then the next inspection would be done for jewellery items,” she said.

Faten explained that this is because another third party, Lebanese jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL, is also seeking physical inspection of the seized items, but as the jeweller was based overseas, no date could be fixed yet for the physical inspection.

Faten said Global Royalty Trading SAL only seeks to inspect the seized jewellery, therefore Najib and another third party can be allowed to conduct a physical inspection of the non-jewellery seized items first.

The other third party seeking physical inspection of the non-jewellery items is Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor. Both Rosmah and Global Royalty Trading SAL are third parties seeking to contest the forfeiture suit against Obyu Holdings.

Faten said for the first inspection of the non-jewellery items would be done involving Najib and Rosmah, while the second inspection would involve the couple as well as Global Royalty Trading SAL.

She added that no date has yet been set for both physical inspections as it is pending separate applications by Rosmah and Global Royalty Trading SAL for extension of time to allow them to physically inspect the seized items.

Previously on March 11, the same court had allowed separate applications by Rosmah and Global Royalty Trading SAL for physical inspection of the items kept at Bank Negara, and the said physical inspections were expected to be done within 30 days of the order.

However, the onset of the movement control order (MCO) on March 18 had disrupted the physical inspection schedule and necessitated the extension of time applications.

Meanwhile, during proceedings earlier today, Shafee submitted that the physical inspection is necessary by claiming that the authorities had damaged the items seized and had not properly labelled the boxes containing the items, among others.

“The police had written (the labelling of seized items) directly on the handbags without using (paper) labels. (They) destroyed it (the items),” Shafee claimed.

Faten had countered that the authorities had not damaged any of the seized items.

The DPP also expressed concern on the physical inspection by Najib as it involves thousands of items of high value, and there is a security concern in how to ensure security during the inspection at Bank Negara where the seized items are currently kept.

Meanwhile, during much earlier proceedings this morning, Jamil also allowed an application by DPP Muhammad Shukri Hussain to remove unit B-45-2 from Pavilion Residences Tower 2, Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur, from the list of items forming part of the RM680 million suit against Obyu Holdings.

The prosecution’s application raised no objection from Obyu Holdings' counsel Kamarul Hisham Kamarudin, with the lawyer adding that they now wish to withdraw related preliminary objection linked to the suit.

Apartment unit B-45-2 was where the alleged 1MDB-linked items were seized in a raid in 2018.

It is understood that the procedural removal of the apartment unit was done as the focus of the forfeiture suit is on the items seized at the unit, not the unit itself.

On Sept 3 last year, it was reported that Najib, Rosmah Mansor and their two children, Umno and Global Royalty Trading SAL would stake their claim in the RM680 million 1MDB-linked forfeiture suit against Obyu Holdings.

The government filed the forfeiture suit against Obyu Holdings – owned by known Najib associate Bustari Yusof – over the 11,991 items of jewellery that police had seized from properties occupied by Najib's family at the Pavilion Residences in Kuala Lumpur in 2018. - Mkini