Rosmah seeks stay on RM67.4m ruling, cites RM100,000 bank balance and concerns over jeweller’s finances

Rosmah seeks stay on RM67.4m ruling, cites RM100,000 bank balance and concerns over jeweller’s finances



File picture of Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor arriving at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex on December 22, 2025. — Picture by Yusof Isa


Summary

• In a recent High Court session, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's legal team requested a stay on a court order mandating her to pay RM67.4 million to Global Royalty Trading SAL, asserting her lack of funds and the absence of evidence supporting the jeweller's financial integrity.
• Rosmah's counsel argued that without proof of the plaintiff's capacity to repay should she win on appeal, the order should be stayed.
• Global Royalty's lawyer countered, highlighting the lack of evidence regarding the jeweller's insolvency or intent to avoid repayment, emphasizing its established reputation and high-profile clientele.
• The court is set to deliver its decision on August 12.

By Kenneth Tee
First Published: Wednesday, 05 Aug 2026 12:17 PM MYT




KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — Counsel for Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor today sought a stay of execution on a court order requiring her to pay RM67.4 million to Lebanese jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL, saying she has only about RM100,000 in her bank account and there is “simply no mechanism” to verify the Beirut-based firm’s financial standing.


Rosmah’s lawyer Reza Rahim said the plaintiff’s affidavit failed to provide any details of its bank accounts, available funds or other assets, leaving no evidence that it could guarantee repayment of the RM67.4 million if Rosmah succeeded on appeal.


“There are simply no mechanisms present for us to check the financial strength of the plaintiff in this situation, which is located in Beirut.


“So under such circumstances, how can we in the right mind now say we will put RM67 million in your hands and therefore you will be able to repay us back? There is just no evidence for that,” he said during today’s hearing, which was conducted via video conference.


Today was the High Court’s hearing of Rosmah’s application to stay the High Court’s decision from June 10 this year.

Reza also said his client had only one bank account, which court documents showed contained roughly RM100,000, while all her current assets were subject to an injunction order in a separate legal suit.


“What I want to show is that my client has been very candid by telling you what she has and what she doesn’t, as opposed to the plaintiff who has not done a single thing, including giving us even an undertaking to say I will pay you back,” he said.

Lawyer Venothani Rajagopal, representing Global Royalty, objected to Rosmah’s stay application, saying she had produced no evidence that the jeweller was “financially unsound” or intended to “dissipate” the judgment sum.

“There is no evidence before this court that the plaintiff is insolvent, that the plaintiff intends to dissipate the judgement sum, or that the plaintiff would be unable or unwilling to comply with the restitution order should the defendant ultimately succeed on appeal.

“Instead, the defendant only relies on one fact, that the plaintiff is incorporated in Lebanon.

“Foreign incorporation is not evidence of risk and speculation is not a special circumstance,” she said.

Venothani said the High Court had previously found, after a full trial, that the plaintiff was an established and wealthy international jeweller whose clientele included royalty and high net worth individuals.

“There is no such evidence that the plaintiff is insolvent, no evidence that the plaintiff has no assets and that the plaintiff would be unable or unwilling to make any restitution,” she said.

Judicial Commissioner Marianne Antoinette Ghani reserved judgment and fixed August 12 to deliver the court’s decision on whether to grant the stay of execution.

The present case centred on 44 pieces of luxury jewellery worth RM67,461,027.37 (US$14.57 million) that Global Royalty said were delivered to Rosmah in 2018 for viewing under a consignment arrangement.

Global Royalty later filed a legal suit in 2023, seeking the return of the items or payment for their value after claiming the items were supplied to Rosmah on consignment but were never returned following their seizure during a 2018 police raid at Pavilion Residences.

Only one item – a diamond and emerald bracelet – was eventually recovered and returned to the Lebanese company following separate forfeiture proceedings.