Unemployed Rosmah used RM7m of undeclared money to pay telco, credit card bills, High Court told as her IRB trial starts today

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 ― Prosecutors told the High Court today that Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor who was not gainfully employed between 2013 and 2017 had used over RM7 million of undeclared monies deposited into her bank account to pay off her family’s telephone and credit card bills while her husband Datuk Seri Najib Razak was prime minister.

Rosmah is facing 12 money laundering charges involving RM7,097,750, and five counts of failure to declare her income to the Inland Revenue Board between December 4, 2013 to June 8, 2017.

In his opening statement at the start of trial this morning, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib argued that the money deposited by Rosmah were wholly disproportionate to her means as she had no independent source of any lawful income at that time.

Ahmad Akram said it is the prosecution’s case that the conduct of the accused in all the circumstances of the case fairly supported the irresistible inference that the deposits in question were proceeds of unlawful activity.

“The accused used the services of one Roslan Sohari to make these deposits on her behalf.

“Roslan was at all material times, the residential house manager of the Seri Perdana Complex in Putrajaya.

“For completeness, it must be said that the monies in question were never disclosed to the Inland Revenue Board as required by written law. Neither was any income tax ever paid on these monies,” he told High Court judge K Muniandy.

Ahmad Akram said the prosecution aims to prove that the accused made false statements concerning the monies that had been paid into her account during questioning by investigators, with statements recorded to be produced as evidence.

He also said the accused's failure to declare said deposits as revenue was in contravention of Section 112 of the Income Tax Act, which is a scheduled offence under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act.

This is Rosmah's second corruption trial.

Last September, she was convicted of three counts of soliciting and accepting bribes in connection with a RM1.25 billion hybrid solar project to power 369 rural schools in Sarawak.

Rosmah was sentenced to 10 years in jail for each charge to be served concurrently which means she will only serve 10 years in jail.

She was also fined RM970 million, in default 30 years in jail.

Her sentence has been paused pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.