Rosmah fails to obtain stay on $21 million payment to Lebanese jeweller

PUTRAJAYA – Malaysia’s Court of Appeal has dismissed former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s wife Rosmah Mansor’s application seeking an unconditional stay on a court order instructing her to pay RM67.5 million (S$21 million) to a Lebanese-based jewellery firm.The notice of motion for the unconditional stay was filed after the lapse of the previous 30-day conditional stay to pay the judgment sum obtained by Global Royalty Trading, as instructed by the High Court on Aug 12.A three-judge panel, chaired by Justice Mohd Firuz Jaffril, noted that Rosmah did not file an appeal against the conditional stay or seek an extension of time but instead filed the notice of motion.He said, under normal circumstances, the appellate court would have dismissed the application outright but it exercised its discretion to hear the motion on its merits.“We are of the considered view that there is not extenuating grounds to allow unconditional stay. For no other reasons, we dismiss this motion,” he said.The court also ordered Rosmah to pay RM30,000 in costs.The other judges on the panel were Justices Amarjeet Singh and Aliza Sulaiman.Earlier, Rosmah’s counsel Reza Rahim told the court that the motion they filed was essentially asking for an unconditional stay on the court order directing Rosmah to pay the RM67.5 million.Reza said the applicant only wanted to stay the payment pending the appeal hearing on the judgment sum, which has been fixed for March 25, 2027.“I’m only asking for that six-month period,” he added.When questioned by Justice Mohd Firuz, Reza admitted that Rosmah did not comply with the conditional stay order.Lawyer Datuk David Gurupatham, who appeared with co-counsel Venothani Rajagopal, objected to the application.He referred to Rosmah’s affidavit where she claimed to have only RM20 in a dormant bank account.“Unless she is living on air and the goodwill of people, that account cannot be accepted as evidence,” he said, adding that there was no other evidence showing Rosmah has other means.Senior federal counsel Siti Aishah Ramlan, who appeared for third-party respondents, the Inspector-General of Police and the government, said she had no objections to Rosmah’s application.When met outside the courtroom, David said Rosmah was in breach of the court order and his client, Global Royalty Trading, was ready to enforce the judgment sum awarded by the court.On June 10, High Court judge Justice Quay Chew Soon ordered Rosmah to pay RM67.5 million to Global Royalty Trading SAL within one month over 43 pieces of jewellery that were not returned to them.Rosmah claimed that the missing 43 pieces were seized by the authorities during a raid on May 17, 2018, at a unit in Pavilion where she was staying.She subsequently applied for a stay.On Aug 12, High Court judge, Judicial Commissioner Marianne Antoinette Ghani, gave Rosmah a conditional stay and ordered Rosmah to pay the judgment sum into a joint stakeholders account between solicitors for the parties within a month from the decision date instead of paying directly to the plaintiff. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK