Najib, Rosmah, jewellery firm owner to inspect 11,991 pieces of seized jewellery kept in Bank Negara

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, as well as Samer Halimeh, the owner of Lebanese jewellery firm Global Royalty Trading SAL, will inspect 11,991 jewellery pieces that are kept in more than 90 boxes in the vault at Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

The jewellery items were among valuables seized by the police from a premises belonging to Obyu Holdings Sdn Bhd at Pavilion Residences in May 2018.

On Wednesday (March 31), High Court Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin set July 12 to 15 or Aug 2 to 6 for the third parties concerned to inspect the jewellery and June 1 for case management.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Faten Hadni Khairuddin told the court that based on the simulation done between the prosecution, BNM and the investigating officer, the inspection of the 11,991 jewellery pieces would take between four and five days.

"The inspection for each box will take about 15 to 20 minutes, but this will depend on the method of inspection by the third party. So, we estimate about four boxes can be be inspected in an hour.

"However, BNM advised the parties involved not to be in the vault for more than five hours due to the low oxygen in there.

"Based on our calculations, the inspection of the jewellery will take four to five days and it can only be done on a working day, ” she said during case management of the forfeiture suit against Obyu Holdings Wednesday.

Najib, Rosmah and Global Royalty are the third parties who are staking claim to the jewellery in the forfeiture application against Obyu Holdings, which is owned by Tan Sri Bustari Yusof.

Meanwhile, lawyer Datuk David Gurupatham, representing Global Royalty, told the court that Samer was currently in the United Kingdom and that they would apply for a special pass for him to enter Malaysia to inspect the jewellery.

At Wednesday's proceeding, Najib and Rosmah were represented by lawyers Syahirah Hanapiah and Iskandar Shah Ibrahim.

In 2019, the prosecution filed a forfeiture application against Obyu Holdings to seize various items including 11,991 units of jewellery, 401 watch straps and 16 watch accessories, 234 pairs of spectacles and 306 handbags as well as cash in various denominations amounting to RM114,164,393.44.

The money and jewellery were confiscated by the authorities for allegedly being linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) fund scandal.

On July 25 last year, Najib and Rosmah had inspected a total of 306 handbags, 401 watches, 16 watch accessories and 234 spectacles which were also seized from the same premises. - Bernama