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Hadi Azmi

Joseph Sipalan

A Malaysian court on Thursday quashed over a dozen charges of money-laundering and tax evasion against Rosmah Mansor, the wife of jailed former leader Najib Razak.
The once-powerful couple faced a string of trials linked to alleged corruption and abuse of power over the course of Najib’s nine-year tenure as prime minister.
A Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that the charges filed by the prosecution were flawed as they failed to make clear what offences Rosmah had allegedly committed.
Judge K Muniandy granted Rosmah a full acquittal from all 17 charges without having to go through a full trial.
Rosmah, 72, welcomed the ruling, which she described as a true representation of justice.
“This is what I call justice, and this is the kind of justice that everybody should have,” she told reporters after the hearing.
The verdict also triggered swift backlash on Malaysian social media where users expressed anger over what they described as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s failing battle against corruption.
Many claimed that this was a trend that started with the acquittal last year of Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money-laundering, and more recently the appointment of former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman as the state’s governor despite having faced numerous allegations of corruption.
“Now Rosmah is found not guilty. Is this a Christmas present for them or what?” read a post on X by one Iqbal.
Others linked Rosmah’s acquittal to a possible move towards granting Najib’s application to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest.
Najib is pursuing a court order to compel Anwar’s administration to reveal a supplementary decree that he claims was issued by the former king earlier this year, instructing the government to allow him to complete his term confined to his home.
“Next? Najib house arrest? Eventually royal pardon?” read one of the many posts on X touching on the issue.


Rosmah was first charged in 2018 with 12 counts of money-laundering involving 7.09 million ringgit (US$1.6 million) and five counts of failing to declare her income to the tax authorities.
In 2022, she was convicted in a separate case of soliciting bribes linked to a US$279 million government contract to set up solar power facilities for hundreds of schools in the state of Sarawak on Malaysian Borneo.
She is currently seeking to overturn her conviction and her 10-year jail sentence at the Court of Appeal.
Najib and Rosmah were at the centre of a corruption crackdown launched in the aftermath of the 2018 national polls, when Najib’s long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition were booted out of power by voters protesting alleged rampant corruption that was symbolised by the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
US and Malaysian investigators have said that US$4.5 billion in taxpayers funds was stolen from 1MDB, spread out among Malaysian government officials, their friends and fixers.
An estimated US$275 million in cash and jewellery, luxury watches and handbags that included several rare Birkin bags by Parisian luxury design house Hermes were seized in raids in 2018 on the couple’s homes and that of their children.
Najib was later found guilty of corruption and abuse of power linked to 42 million ringgit funnelled through a former unit of 1MDB, and ordered in 2022 to begin his jail sentence – which was halved to six years by Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah in January, as a last act before ending his five-year tenure as Malaysia’s king.
Najib is currently on trial for 25 charges of money-laundering and abuse of power over the alleged embezzlement of 2.27 billion ringgit from 1MDB.


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Rosmah Mansor was granted a full acquittal from all 17 charges. Photo: AP

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Malaysia’s current king, Sultan Ibrahim of Johor. Photo: AFP

Malaysia’s king Sultan Ibrahim (left) has lunch with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Johor on Monday. Photo: Facebook/anwaribrahimofficial

Malaysia’s current monarch, Sultan Ibrahim of Johor. Photo: AFP

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak (centre) is escorted by prison officers upon his arrival at the Kuala Lumpur High Court for a hearing in October. Photo: AP 

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Rosmah Mansor at the high court in Kuala Lumpur on September 1, 2022. Photo: AFP 

Rosmah Mansor, wife of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, arrives at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Rosmah, right, said she had ‘never influenced’ her husband Najib. File photo: AP 

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Rosmah described the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s ruling as a true representation of justice


Rosmah described the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s ruling as a true representation of justice.
