Jewellery firm says it's well-established, doesn't need Rosmah's 'publicity'

The Lebanese jewellery firm suing Rosmah Mansor for RM67.46 million over jewellery has described her defence against its lawsuit as “untrue, absurd, illogical and are simply bare assertions and denial”.

Global Royalty Trading SAL said this in a filed reply to the statement of defence by the wife of incarcerated former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, over the defendant’s claim that the jewellery was sent to her for “publicity” and that she never sought them in the first place.

“The plaintiff pleads that it is a well-established and renowned jeweller, operating retail shops in prominent locations such as London and New York. The plaintiff had been serving royalties and celebrities long before the defendant made any purchases. The plaintiff's reputation and clientele speak for themselves, and the plaintiff has no need for additional publicity as claimed by the defendant.

“Furthermore, the plaintiff asserts that their association with various royal families further solidifies their standing in the industry. The plaintiff was introduced to the defendant by the sultanah of Brunei, which demonstrates the level of trust and prestige the plaintiff enjoys. Thus, the plaintiff was in no need of publicity.

“Prior to the consignment of the 44 pieces of jewellery, the defendant had made previous purchases from the plaintiff. However, no publicity or attention was generated from those transactions. Therefore, the plaintiff pleads that the defendant's claim regarding publicity holds no basis or merit,” Global Royalty contended in the reply sighted by Malaysiakini.

In response to Rosmah’s contention that she could not be made responsible for the loss of the 44 jewellery pieces as the police seized them during a raid following the 14th general election in mid-2018, the company contended that she was being dishonest as the 44 pieces were part of the 12,000 pieces that were later returned to her on Nov 14 last year.

Seized jewellery from the 1MDB-linked raid in 2018

Global Royalty pointed out that as a result, Rosmah actually has in possession 43 of the jewellery pieces and thus should make payment for them.

The police had previously returned one of the 44 pieces to the company.

When contacted, Rosmah’s counsel Rajivan Nambiar confirmed that Global Royalty’s legal team from David Gurupatham & Koay filed the reply yesterday.

Seeking cost of jewellery

Back in April, Global Royalty refiled the RM67.46 million civil action against Rosmah over the allegation that the jewellery was sent to the defendant for viewing purposes.

Instead of their return, the firm is seeking to recover the cost of the jewellery at RM67,461,027 (equivalent to US$14,567,270).

Previously, in 2019, the firm filed a suit for 44 pieces of jewellery worth US$14.79 million or almost RM60 million but withdrew it later, with the firm having secured the return of one of the jewellery items.

The present legal action is pending before the High Court of Kuala Lumpur, with the matter set for case management on July 26. - Mkini