Appeals Court Dismisses Rosmah’s Bid for Unconditional Stay Over RM67.5 Million Payment to Lebanese Jeweller

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 23 – The Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor for an unconditional stay of execution on a High Court order requiring her to pay RM67.5 million to Lebanese jewellery firm Global Royalty Trading SAL.

A three-member panel chaired by Justice Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril, alongside Justices Datuk Amarjeet Singh and Datuk Aliza Sulaiman, ruled that there were no exceptional grounds to grant an unconditional stay.

The court also ordered Rosmah, the wife of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to pay RM30,000 in costs.

Rosmah is appealing a June 10 High Court decision that found her liable for the loss of 43 pieces of consignment jewellery and ordered her to pay RM67.5 million within one month. Her main appeal is scheduled to be heard before the Court of Appeal on March 25 next year.

On Aug 12, High Court Judicial Commissioner Marianne Antoinette Ghani had granted Rosmah a conditional stay, ordering her to deposit the full RM67.5 million into a joint stakeholders’ account managed by the solicitors of both parties within one month.

During today’s hearing, Rosmah’s counsel Mohamed Reza Abdul Rahim urged the bench to grant a six-month unconditional stay pending the outcome of the March 25 appeal. However, he admitted that his client had neither appealed the High Court’s conditional stay order nor complied with its requirement to deposit the funds into the stakeholder account.

Counsel Datuk David Gurupatham, representing Global Royalty alongside R. Venothani, objected to the application, stating that granting an unconditional stay would deprive the firm of the fruits of its judgment. He cited an affidavit in which Rosmah claimed her assets were frozen due to a separate lawsuit filed against her by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and that she only had RM20 left in a dormant bank account.

Senior Federal Counsel Siti Aishah Ramlan, appearing for third-party respondents the Inspector-General of Police and the Malaysian Government, did not object to the motion.

Global Royalty initiated legal action on March 29, 2023, alleging that Rosmah had falsely claimed that 44 pieces of consignment jewellery—including diamond necklaces, bracelets, and tiaras—were seized by police during a 2018 raid under anti-money laundering laws. The company stated that only one piece of jewellery was in police custody, while the remaining 43 pieces were missing.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, David stated that Rosmah is currently in breach of the court order and confirmed that Global Royalty is prepared to initiate immediate enforcement proceedings to recover the judgment sum.

–NMT