Luxury bags, watches: 1MDB sues former Malaysian PM Najib’s wife Rosmah for $492 million
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The plaintiffs claimed Rosmah Mansor used the funds from the companies to purchase luxury items such as handbags.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s insolvent state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad
The plaintiffs claimed that Rosmah, the wife of Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak, had used the funds from the companies to purchase luxury items such as jewellery, watches and handbags.
On May 17, 2018, the Malaysian police raided three apartments in a posh Kuala Lumpur condominium
Among the items seized were prized Birkin handbags from Hermes.
Apart from 1MDB, the other plaintiffs included SRC International, 1MDB Energy Holdings, 1MDB Energy, 1MDB Energy (Langat) and Global Diversified Investment Company, formerly 1MDB Global Investments.
The remaining plaintiffs were offshore entities Affinity Equity International Partners, Alsen Chance Holdings, Blackrock Commodities (Global), Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners and Brightstone Jewellery.
In the lawsuit, filed on May 9 through Lim Chee Wee Partnership, the plaintiffs named Rosmah as the first defendant and Shabnam Naraindas Daswani (also known as Natasha Mirpuri) as the second defendant.
They claimed that Shabnam, who was based in Singapore, had purchased or procured the luxury items on behalf of Rosmah.
The plaintiffs claimed that funds from 1MDB and its subsidiaries were channelled to various offshore entities – including Affinity Equity, Alsen Chance, Blackrock Commodities, Blackstone Asia and Brightstone Jewellery – before being paid out to 48 different vendors based in 14 jurisdictions for the luxury goods.
“A total of 320 such payments totalling US$346,010,489 were made,” the plaintiffs stated.
They further claimed the goods sought were the “traceable substitute” of 1MDB and its subsidiaries’ trust property, and the plaintiffs thus had an equitable proprietary interest in the luxury goods.
They were seeking a court declaration that they had equitable proprietary interest in the goods and traceable proceeds in the hands of Rosmah, as well as an order for Rosmah to pay the first six plaintiffs a sum of US$346 million.
The lawsuit is fixed for case management on May 24.
Rosmah was on Sept 1, 2022, convicted by the High Court of three counts of graft
She was sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined RM970 million. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
