September 1, 2022
KUALA LUMPUR – Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, was convicted of corruption on Thursday, just over a week after her husband was jailed after Malaysia’s highest court affirmed his corruption conviction.
Rosmah, 70, was found guilty by Malaysia’s High Court of soliciting a total of RM194 million (S$61 million) in bribes to help solar energy firm Jepak Holdings secure a RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project for hundreds of schools in Sarawak in 2016.
Earlier on Thursday, she failed to get Justice Zaini Mazlan recused from the case, arguing that a judgement on it was allegedly leaked and posted online last week.
Rosmah also faces 17 money laundering and tax evasion charges involving a total of RM7.1 million in a separate ongoing trial.
Her conviction comes just over a week after Najib lost his final appeal against a 2020 graft conviction at the Federal Court. He started serving a 12-year jail term at the Kajang Prison in Selangor last Tuesday.
Najib was Malaysia’s prime minister from 2009 to 2018. Critics have accused both him and Rosmah of leading a lavish lifestyle while he was in power.
Najib was convicted of misappropriating RM42 million from SRC International – a former subsidiary of the scandal-tainted state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad – which he co-founded. He has four other ongoing trials relating to billions of 1MDB monies.