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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – The Malaysian anti-corruption authorities on Wednesday arrested former first lady Rosmah Mansor, who will spend a night in detention before being brought to justice for the purpose of prosecution. accusations of money laundering.
Rosmah Mansor, wife of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, arrives to make a statement to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on September 26, 2018. REUTERS / Lai Seng Sin
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has announced the arrest of Rosmah, 66, who will be prosecuted in court on Thursday for violating the anti-money laundering law.
"Rosmah will face several charges," said the agency in a statement.
The arrest of Rosmah follows three interrogations led by anti-corruption agents on the public fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), whose US authorities said that more than 4.5 billion dollars had been diverted. Last Wednesday, she was interrogated for almost 13 hours.
After Najib's election defeat in May, the couple saw their world tumble, as the authorities banned them from leaving the country and the police searched their homes.
Malaysians have been outraged by the seizure of some $ 275 million worth of money and goods, including a large collection of Hermes Birkin and other designer handbags, jewelery and watches belonging to couple-related properties.
Najib stated that most of the items seized were gifts to his wife and daughter and had no connection with 1MDB.
The anti-corruption agency did not specify whether the charges against Rosmah related to 1MDB.
After the arrest, Rosmah's lawyer, Geethan Ram Vincent, told reporters that his lawyers had not been informed of the nature of the charges against her.
Rosmah smiled and shook hands with agents of the anti-corruption agency as she arrived at her seat around 0300 GMT, dressed in a scarf and dressed in a long skirt and from a traditional lime green blouse.
She did not comment to the journalists.
Najib faces 32 charges ranging from money laundering to abuse of power and breach of trust by a criminal to discover how billions of dollars have disappeared by 1MDB.
He has always denied that he acted wrongly and pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Najib, 64, was himself questioned Wednesday by the Malaysian Police's Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Division as part of a money laundering investigation, the media said.
He is also scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a preliminary hearing on the charges against him.
The corruption charges have been blaming Najib for years and escalated in 2015 when the Wall Street Journal announced that nearly $ 700 million in 1MDB funds had been diverted to his personal bank account.
Najib lost the May election because of his former mentor, Mahathir Mohamad, who quickly reopened a 1MDB investigation.
Additional report by Joseph Sipalan; Written by A. Ananthalakshmi; Edited by Clarence Fernandez
