ABOUT US$346 million (RM1.63 billion) from 1Malaysia Development Bhd and SRC International Sdn Bhd was used on jewellery, handbags and other luxury goods from 48 vendors in at least 14 countries, the Kuala Lumpur court was told.
According to reports in The Star, the locations include the British Virgin Islands (one), Hong Kong (nine), India (four), Indonesia (two), Italy (three), Lebanon (three), Mauritius (one), Panama (one), Singapore (one), Thailand (two), United Arab Emirates (seven), Turkiye (two), the United Kingdom (two) and the United States (seven).
These allegations were made in a statement of claim in a lawsuit by 1MDB, SRC and four subsidiaries against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and another individual filed last week.
The four 1MDB subsidiaries are 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, 1MDB Energy Ltd, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd and Global Diversified Investment Company Ltd, formerly known as 1MDB Global Investments Ltd.
The plaintiffs claimed that eight entities, registered offshore, had made 320 purchases of luxury goods with funds amounting to US$346,010,489 between 2010 and 2014 and that the luxury items were received by Rosmah.
The companies claimed that monies to fund the purchases came from 1MDB and SRC, which were fraudulently transferred out to entities registered in offshore jurisdictions and had no connection with or served no legitimate purpose with regards to investments objectives by the companies.
“These payments are traceable to and represent the monies misappropriated from 1MDB and its four subsidiaries and SRC International, that is, the funds misappropriated between 2010 and 2014,” the plaintiffs claimed.
According to court documents filed on May 9, Rosmah, along with Shabnam Naraindas Daswani (also known as Natasha Mirpuri), were named as defendants.
The plaintiffs claimed that Shabnam Naraindas had purchased or procured the luxury items on behalf of the wife of imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Apart from 1MDB, SRC, and the four companies, other plaintiffs are Affinity Equity International Partners Ltd, Alsen Chance Holdings Ltd, Blackrock Commodities (Global) Ltd, Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners Ltd and Brightstone Jewellery Ltd.
They claim that Shabnam, who is a fashion designer based in Singapore, had purchased or procured the luxury items on behalf of Rosmah.
The plaintiffs claim 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.
They further claimed the goods sought were “traceable substitutes” of 1MDB and its subsidiaries’ trust property, thus the plaintiffs have an equitable proprietary interest in the luxury goods.
The plaintiffs want Rosmah to return any of these items in her possession and to pay a sum of US$346,010,489, or an amount to be assessed by the court.
They also want the second defendant (Shabnam) to pay them a sum to be determined by the court.
Case management is fixed on June 14 via Zoom. – June 11, 2024
