Wife of Malaysia's former PM Najib arrested by anti-graft agency

Young journalists club

News ID: 29628
Asia » Asia
Publish Date: 15:53 - 03 October 2018
TEHRAN, October 03 - Malaysian anti-graft authorities on Wednesday arrested former first lady Rosmah Mansor, who will spend a night in detention before being taken to court to face money-laundering charges.

Wife of Malaysia's former PM Najib arrested by anti-graft agencyTEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said it arrested Rosmah, 66, who will face charges in court on Thursday for infringing an anti-money laundering law.

"Rosmah will face several charges," the agency said in a statement.

Rosmah's arrest follows three rounds of questioning by anti-graft agents over state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), from which U.S. authorities say more than $4.5 billion was misappropriated. Last Wednesday, she was questioned for nearly 13 hours.

After Najib's election defeat in May, the couple have seen their world turned upside down, with authorities banning them from leaving the country and the police searching their homes.

Malaysians have been outraged by the seizure of around $275 million worth of cash and goods, including a vast collection of Hermes Birkin and other designer handbags, jewelry and watches from properties linked to the couple.

Najib has said most of the seized data-x-items were gifts to his wife and daughter and had nothing to do with 1MDB.

The anti-graft agency did not say if the charges against Rosmah relate to 1MDB.

After the arrest, Rosmah's lawyer, Geethan Ram Vincent, told reporters her lawyers had not been informed of the nature of the charges to be filed against her.

Rosmah smiled and shook hands with officers of the anti-graft agency as she arrived at its headquarters at around 0300 GMT, wearing a headscarf, and traditional Malay garb of floor-length skirt and a blouse in lime-green.

She made no comment to reporters.

Source: Reuters

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