Report: Rosmah’s US$23m pink diamond necklace in the spotlight at Roger Ng 1MDB trial in New York

JOHOR BARU, March 24 — The jury in the trial of former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng yesterday were shown the receipt for the US$23 million necklace with a large pink diamond created by New York jeweller Lorraine Schwartz for Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

According to Bloomberg, the receipt, in the form of an invoice, was part of the evidence to prove that the necklace was bought with money allegedly looted from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The report noted, however, that the jury was not offered or shown a photo of the necklace during the proceedings in a Brooklyn federal court yesterday.

US prosecutors are attempting to demonstrate how billions of dollars diverted from three US$6.5 billion 1MDB bond transactions by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, or popularly known as Jho Low, were blown on luxury items.

According to Bloomberg, the jeweller’s records showed that Low had contacted Schwartz in June 2013, asking her to create a pink diamond necklace with a heart-shaped gem at its centre for the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The report revealed that while Rosmah asked for an 18-carat diamond, Schwartz said she only had a 22-carat pink diamond, and a US$23 million deal was struck for the larger stone.

Records showed that Schwartz later personally delivered the necklace to Rosmah while the latter was staying aboard a yacht with Low off the coast of Monaco.

Records also showed that Rosmah later bought an additional US$1.3 million in jewellery from Schwartz in 2014.

Ng, the only Goldman banker to stand trial in the scandal, is accused of conspiring with his former boss Tim Leissner to help Low syphon billions of dollars from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.

Leissner, who pleaded guilty to fraud charges related to the scandal, is cooperating with US authorities and testified against Ng at the trial.

Low is also accused of diverting funds from 1MDB to Najib’s stepson, Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, to fund the film, The Wolf of Wall Street.

The report said the jury was shown a photo of the plastic case for the DVD of the film as well as a screen shot from the credits thanking Low for his support.

Riza’s Red Granite production company agreed in 2018 to pay US$60 million to settle claims brought by the US Justice Department that it financed the movie and other pictures with stolen 1MDB money.

Riza had twice before settled Justice Department lawsuits over his role in the 1MDB scandal.

In 2020, he resolved a separate government suit by agreeing to drop claims to tens of millions of dollars in United States and United Kingdom property without admitting wrongdoing.

The Bloomberg report also said that prosecutors claimed an entity controlled by Low also used 1MDB money to buy five artworks from Christie’s auction house for US$58.3 million, including a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting titled Dustheads for US$51.8 million.

It said more invoices were shown to the jury as well as a thumbnail picture of the Dustheads painting.

Rosmah was charged with graft offences linked to 1MDB in Malaysia, while Najib is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.