Now: Rosmah’s ‘diamond bangles’

KUALA LUMPUR: Another glittering allegation has surfaced about the prime minister’s wife, this time over a set of diamond bangles which industry experts claim may be worth a fortune.

Yesterday, several pro-opposition bloggers claimed that Rosmah Mansor had acquired a ring from the New York-based fine jeweller Jacob & Co worth RM73 million.

The bloggers identified the item as a “Natural Fancy Blue Gray Cushion Cut Diamond Ring”. It had supposedly passed through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport customs in April this year.

Screenshots of the alleged customs computer displays also revealed that the ring did not have import duties imposed on it.

Today, another blogger called “Semut and Papan Kekunci” published photographs of Rosmah wearing bangles that were strikingly similar to Jacob & Co’s “Zebra Safari Collection”.

The fine jeweller’s website stated that the Zebra print pave diamond bangle from its Safari collection, “features white and black pave diamonds total carat weight 65.77 in 18k white gold.”

When FMT checked with a local diamond merchant, the latter said the price for top quality stones could be worth as much as RM100,000 a carat, but a gemologist, who declined to be named, opined that certain designer items could be worth much more.
“Furthermore, when the item comes from an esteemed organisation like Jacob & Co, the price could be much higher because of the brand name,” he said.

Meanwhile, the blogger also pointed out that Jacob & Co was owned by a Jewish businessman, Jacob Arabo.

In view of this, the blogger criticised Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for branding Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim as an Israeli agent, while “his wife spent millions in Jewish jewellery.”

In another development, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) today lodged an anti-graft report against Rosmah for allegedly possessing a US$24 million diamond ring.

SAMM president Badrul Hisham Shaharin led a group of members to lodge the report at the Penang Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) office.

Badrul called on the MACC to carry out an immediate investigation into his report.