Malaysian ex-PM Najib's wife arrested by anti-graft agency

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s anti-graft agency arrested former first lady Rosmah Mansor and expects to charge her in court on Thursday with money-laundering, among other infringements, it said.

Rosmah, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, was detained after being questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), it added.

“Rosmah will face several charges,” the agency said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the charges covered infringements of a law against money laundering and other unlawful activities.

Her 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.

Rosmah, 66, had arrived at the agency’s headquarters at around 0300 GMT on Wednesday, wearing traditional Malay clothing in lime green and accompanied by her lawyers.

The agency did not say if the charges against her related to 1MDB. Lawyers for Rosmah had earlier said she had been arrested and that she would face money laundering charges.

Najib, 64, himself faced questioning on Wednesday by the anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing division of Malaysia’s police over a money laundering inquiry, media said.

Najib, whose coalition suffered a stunning election defeat in May, faces 32 charges ranging from money laundering to abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in the effort to uncover how billions of dollars went missing from 1MDB.

The couple’s world has been turned upside down since Najib lost the election to his one-time mentor Mahathir Mohamad, who swiftly reopened a probe into 1MDB.

Corruption accusations have dogged Najib for years, and came to a head in 2015, when the Wall Street Journal reported that nearly $700 million in 1MDB funds was diverted to his personal bank account.

Rosmah has long been in the public eye over her penchant for handbags, jewelry and shopping sprees.