KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has failed in her attempt to have High Court Judge Adlin Abdul Majid recuse herself from presiding over the RM346mil civil suit filed by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) against her.
The suit by 1MDB and 10 other companies against the wife of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is related to the purchase of luxury goods totalling more than RM346mil, allegedly obtained through the misappropriation of 1MDB funds.
At Monday’s (Sept 9) proceedings, Justice Adlin rejected Rosmah’s application, stating that the former prime minister’s wife failed to prove any real danger of bias if she continues to preside over the civil suit.
The judge explained that she was in charge of the corporate division when she was with the law firm Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill (LHAG), while all affairs related to 1MDB were handled by the legal division.
"I refute the allegation that there was a real danger of bias. The application is therefore rejected with cost,” said the judge, who also ordered Rosmah to pay RM10,000 as costs to the plaintiffs and set Sept 20 for case management.
In her application filed on June 25, Rosmah requested the judge to recuse herself from hearing the case because she was a partner at LHAG, a 1MDB-appointed law firm, from March 2011 to March 2021, before being appointed as Judicial Commissioner on April 1, 2021.
Rosmah argued that the law firm was involved in 1MDB’s asset recovery since 2018, as indicated in media reports published between Aug 30, 2018, and June 4, 2021.
She claimed it is her absolute right to a fair trial, which she believes would be prejudiced if Judge Adlin continues to preside over the case.
On May 9, 1MDB and 10 other companies filed a lawsuit against Rosmah over the purchase of luxury items amounting to over RM346mil, alleged to have been obtained through the misappropriation of 1MDB funds.
Five of the companies were its subsidiaries, namely 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited; 1MDB Energy Limited; 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited; Global Diversified Investment Company Limited; and SRC International Sdn Bhd. The other five companies are Affinity Equity International Partners Limited; Alsen Chance Holdings Limited; Blackrock Commodities (Global) Limited; Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners Limited; and Brightstone Jewellery Limited.
All the plaintiffs named Rosmah and a woman named Shabnam Naraindas Daswani (also known as Natasha Mirpuri) as the first and second defendants.
The plaintiffs contend that the luxury items, such as jewellery, watches, and handbags, were acquired by Rosmah or the second defendant not with Rosmah’s personal funds, but rather with funds misappropriated from the companies, which were channelled through various offshore entities before being disbursed to 48 different vendors in 14 countries.
Therefore, among other claims, the companies are demanding that Rosmah pay US$346,010,489 or such other amount as the court may deem appropriate.
They also seek court declarations, including one asserting that the first to sixth plaintiffs hold rightful ownership of the luxury items, currently purported to be in Rosmah's possession.
At Monday’s proceeding, Rosmah was represented by Datuk Seri Rajan Navaratnam, while all the plaintiffs were represented by Datuk Lim Chee Wee. – Bernama
