KUALA LUMPUR: More than 12,000 pieces of jewellery worth a whopping RM443mil were seized in a raid at the Pavilion Residences, linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) probe, the High Court told.
Asst Comm Foo Wei Min testified that the jewellery pieces were among the items recovered during a search on May 17, 2018 at a unit in the luxury condominium where Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor had been staying.
According to Foo, the police also seized 35 bags of cash, six bags of watches, and 284 boxes of branded handbags.
In his witness statement, Foo said a valuation exercise was conducted between May 30 and June 25, 2018, with the assistance of jewellery experts.
The total estimated value of the 12,009 jewellery items was around RM443,319,206.90.
Foo was testifying as a witness in a lawsuit filed by Beirut-based jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL, which is suing Rosmah for the return of 43 out of the 44 pieces of jewellery, or the compensation of RM67.5mil.
Foo said that during investigations, Rosmah's statement was taken, but she denied knowledge of the seized items.
“In her statement, the defendant (Rosmah) said she had no knowledge of the items and did not instruct anyone to move her belongings from Langgak Duta (Najib’s private residence) to Pavilion.
"Rosmah also did not claim ownership of the seized items and was unable to identify them when shown photographs,” he said.
The prosecution subsequently filed a forfeiture application under Section 56 of AMLA in 2019 involving the seized items.
However, the Attorney General later ordered the return of 9,554 jewellery items to Rosmah and her husband, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in April 2022.
Another 2,431 items were returned in December 2022 following the High Court’s dismissal of the forfeiture application.
Foo said representatives from Global Royalty had positively identified only one item as theirs, and the item was returned to them on Sept 15, 2022.
The remaining items, Foo said, were still subject to forfeiture proceedings under the law.
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.
