Rosmah Mansor is now sued for purportedly using funds not hers to support her ardent love for Birkin bags and such. Her once-personal shopper too

Still not out of legal hot soup, Rosmah Mansor faces fresh lawsuit as the insolvent Malaysia state fund 1MDB (1 Malaysia Development Berhad) and subsidiaries tries to reclaim what they alleged were used by Ms Mansor to support her appetite for luxury bags and expensive jewellery: reportedly US$350 million (or about S$474,180,000) worth. A former sourcing agent to Ms Mansor, Shabnam Naraindas Daswani, was named as a second defendant. According to The Star, “funds from 1MDB and its subsidiaries were channelled to various off-shore entities before being paid out to 48 different vendors based in 14 jurisdictions for the luxury goods.” Apparently, “a total of 320 such payments totalling US$346,010,489 were made.” It is not clear how, if true, a fund set up in 2009 to prod development in Malaysia by encouraging foreign investment and partnerships could so easily be used as one private citizen’s ATM.

The former self-proclaimed “first lady of Malaysia”, who has been allowed to visit our island even supposedly while in jail following a 10-year sentence in 2022 for corruption, was known for her love of high-end jewellery and bags. Her valuable trove came to light after the 2018 police raid of her residences, where a reported cache of 500 handbags and 12,000 pieces of jewellery—all then estimated to be worth US$270 million—were found and then carted off in full view of media cameras. At the time, Reuters reported that other than Birkins and Bijans, the police also found Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Oscar de la Renta bags. In the episode ‘The Man at the Top’ of the 2020 Netflix series Dirty Money, Ms Mansor’s husband Najib Razak explained his wife’s propensity for building material stash: “like most women, my wife does like to shop, but you tend to accumulate things over a period of time, and some of the places she shops are… you know she goes to outlets as well, you know.” The ex-prime minister then called her a “hoarder”. Did she spend lavishly to hoard—the piling up that, for a woman of her age, might be considered an affliction?

“like most women, my wife does like to shop, but you tend to accumulate things over a period of time, and some of the places she shops are… you know she goes to outlets as well, you know”

Najib Razak

In 2016, the Wall Street Journal reported that “documents show [she] has racked up at least $6 million in credit card charges” when her husband was PM. Ms Mansor, at the time, was not known to be employed or to have enjoyed a steady stream of income. Other news suggested that “she was spending almost 20 times more than what Najib earned each year—of around RM1 million (or about S$286,000)”. WSJ claimed that the credit cards were in the name of Mr Razak, and reportedly drew on IMDB funds. This staggering spending seems to contradict what Ms Mansor claimed in her 2013 eponymous biografi: “I have bought some jewellery and dresses with my own money. What’s wrong with that?” It is tempting to think that since Ms Mansor’s initials are the same as Ringgit Malaysia, she felt she was entitled to use the duit (money), regardless of the source, no matter if the pool belonged to her.

Who is Shabnam Naraindas Daswani?

Interestingly, Rosmah Mansor did not operate alone. It is not unreasonable to assume that as a prime minister’s wife, she did not go out shopping for what she desired, most of the time. She was known to have, for example, jewellery she liked sent to her for at-home retail therapy. Last year, a Lebanese jeweller Global Royalty Trading sued Ms Mansor to demand the payment for US$14.57 million (or about S$19.4 million) worth of merchandise sent to her to choose, but nothing came out of it. Ms Mansor claimed that the jewellery—some 44 pieces—were taken during the infamous 2018 police raid. (According to Malaysian news reports , the Global Royal case will go to trial later this month). She did not, therefore, choose to have them not returned. If merchandise wasn’t sent to her, she apparently had someone do the shopping for her or bring stuff for her to view: a woman described as a “fashion guru”—Shabnam Naraindas Daswani.

Photograph circulating online purported to be of Shabnam Naraindas Daswani. Photo illustration based on image found on X

To date, very little is known about Ms Daswani. Apparently, she also identifies as Natasha Mirpuri. Which is her legal name is, hitherto, unknown. Some regional news reports stated that she is a “Singaporean”, but both CNA (Channel News Asia) and The Straits Times, claimed in recent days that she was “based in Singapore” (although ST had called her a “Singaporean” in a 2019 editorial. Back then, Malaysian police was seeking her “help” in the 1MDB probe). She is also reported to be an “associate” of the Malaysian fugitive Jho Low who is wanted by various nations in connection with the 1MDB case, described by the American media as “the world’s biggest kleptocracy”. Ms Daswani is, according to Sarawak Report, “close to the (ex-)PM’s wife”. She is thought to be Ms Mansor’s personal shopper of sort, and had “procured” luxury goods on the latter’s behalf. In a 2020 Al Jazeera documentary Jho Low: Hunt for a Fugitive, Mr Low was found, in a “never-before-heard recording” of a telephone conversation with the Malaysian government, to have said: “Definitely she’s the one person that would have records of everything”.

Ms Daswani has been described as a “fashion designer”. In the late ’90s, she operated a store named Mantra in the old Raffles Arcade of Raffles Hotel. It is unclear what she actually sold. Apparently her main client was Rosmah Mansor. According to Jho Low, Ms Daswani—whom he called Natasha—“is the central person that literally kept books on everything… as leverage”. The whereabouts of Ms Daswani is unknown. Up to 2016, she was seen in society parties in Singapore. Some reports say that presently, “she is at large”. There has been virtually no press investigation here into her dealings with Ms Mansor, her current location (or hideout), or the state of her cooperation with the Malaysian police, if there was at all. It is also not known if our authorities are looking into any wrong-doing she may have committed here. Unlike her more recognisable Rosmah Mansor client, has Shabnam Naraindas Daswani simply vanished?

Update (11 June 2024, 8pm): According to the latest news reports in Malaysia, 1MDB claimed in the high court that Rosmah Mansor amassed jewellery and luxury bags allegedly through hundreds of payments siphoned from the development fund. According to The New Straits Times, the total of 320 payments “were made to 48 different vendors in 14 countries between 2010 and 2014”. One entity in Singapore was among the recipient of the payments. 1MDB and its subsidiaries are now seeking to freeze Ms Mansor’s assets. She has to disclose what she owns inside and outside of Malaysia. She is allowed up to RM10,000 a month “for living and legal expenses”

Update (9 April 2025, 20:30): According to Malaysian media, 1MDB has withdrawn its lawsuit against Shabnam Naraindas Daswani. According to the New Straits Times, “the court recorded a consent judgment whereby 1MDB and the other plaintiffs discontinued the claim against Shabnam, with liberty to file afresh”. Rosman Mansor, therefore, remains the only defendant in the case

Illustration (top): Just So