KUALA LUMPUR: The police were unable to itemise all jewellery found in a luxury condominium during a raid related to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) investigation due to sheer number of items seized, the High Court has been told.
Former Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Amar Singh Ishar Singh testified that the police found 71 suitcases and over 200 boxes in the unit at Pavilion Residences in 2018.
"Initially, we wanted to count each and every exhibit. But the minute we opened up a few bags, the number of exhibits in each bag was just overwhelming.
"When we opened the bags, the bags were filled to the brim with jewellery. We couldn't count and tabulate these exhibits. There were just too many," said the retired cop.
Amar was testifying in a lawsuit filed by Beirut-based jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL, which is suing Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor for the return of 43 out of 44 pieces, or compensation of RM67.5mil.
The witness said police also found a bag filled with cash that was not properly bundled up.
"It was loosely packed and the contents just spilled onto the floor. We had to push all the items back in and zip the bag up again," he added.
According to Amar, the team did not bring a weighing machine and had no expertise to tabulate the exhibits.
"We are not experts and could not determine if it was real or fake gold, diamonds or otherwise. We didn't know anything. There was just too many for us to tabulate," he said.
He said the team then decided to wrap the bags in plastic, similar to those used in airports, to ensure the bags were secure and the integrity of the exhibits was maintained.
The exhibits were placed in five police trucks and sent to Bukit Aman.
"Each vehicle was escorted by patrol cars. Our entire team followed the convoy to ensure the exhibits arrived at Bukit Aman in their original condition.
"Upon arrival, we followed the same process, escorting items in batches. Only after sealing everything did we allow everyone to leave," he added.
In his witness statement, Amar said inspection and valuation of the jewellery was conducted between May 30, 2018 and June 25, 2018 at the 34th floor of Menara KPJ.
After the process was completed, the exhibits were escorted by the same team and placed in the vault at Bank Negara.
"I was informed that the money laundering investigating officer, together with a representative from Global Royalty, positively identified one item of jewellery as theirs.
"The mark on the jewellery was positively identified and (the item) returned to them. If this is so, then it was together with a total of 1,041 pieces of jewellery found in bags stored in a room at the premises," he said.
Global Royalty filed the suit on May 29, 2023, claiming that Rosmah had falsely claimed that 44 pieces of jewellery, including diamond necklaces, bracelets and tiaras, sent to her by the company's agent, were seized by Malaysian authorities under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
The jeweller said only one out of 44 pieces they owned was retained by the police.
They further claimed that Rosmah had shifted the blame to the Malaysian government when the jewellery had in fact gone missing.
The hearing continues before Justice Quay Chew Soon.
