Rosmah’s RM67.5m jewellery bill: No pause button, Court of Appeal rules

Samer Halimeh (left) together with Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in an undated photograph. On September 23, 2026, the Court of Appeal ruled against her bid to stay the High Court decision to pay him RM67.5 million over 43 missing pieces of luxury jewellery. — File picture courtesy of Samer Halimeh New York

By Malay Mail

First Published: Wednesday, 23 Sep 2026 2:20 PM MYT

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 23 — Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has lost her latest bid to fully halt a RM67.5 million payment owed to Lebanese jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL over dozens of missing jewellery pieces.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed her appeal against a High Court order for a conditional stay, meaning the sum must still be deposited into a stakeholder account within a month of the August 12 judgement, The Edge reported today.

“He can and is willing and able” to collect “every cent” of the judgement sum, the jeweller's lawyer Datuk David Gurupatham was quoted telling reporters outside the courtroom after the decision was announced.

The dispute traces back to a June High Court ruling by Judicial Commissioner Datuk Quay Chew Soon, which held Rosmah liable for 43 pieces of jewellery that went missing after a 2018 police raid.

Rosmah had wanted the payment paused entirely pending her main appeal, arguing her assets were tied up in 1Malaysia Development Bhd's (1MDB) separate US$350 million (RM1.6 billion) suit against her.

She had given an undertaking in June 2024 not to dispose of luxury goods worth about RM600 million linked to that 1MDB claim.

According to The Edge, David pushed back, telling the court the value of the 1MDB-linked assets had not been established and that ownership of the jewellery itself was still unverified.

“Unless [Rosmah] has been living on fresh air and the goodwill of the people,” he was quoted as saying, adding that a document showing just RM100,000 in a dormant Affin Bank account could not be treated as proof of her financial position.

A three-member bench led by Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril agreed there were no grounds for an unconditional stay, noting her 1MDB undertaking only covered a specific, agreed list of items — not her full asset picture.

The judges also pointed out the Attorney General's Chambers had not objected to the jeweller's application.

Of the 44 jewellery pieces originally involved, only one has been recovered and returned so far.

Rosmah's main appeal is set to be heard on March 25, 2027, and the Court of Appeal ordered her to pay RM30,000 in costs.