-The Star filepic
KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution will prove that an "unemployed" Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor received large sums of money into her current account at Affin Bank Berhad and used it to pay telephone and credit card bills incurred by her and members of her family.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib said the wife of Datuk Seri Najib Razak had no independent source of any lawful income and was making payments for telephone and credit card bills through cheques signed by her.
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"At all times material to the charges before the court, the accused was not gainfully employed. The sums were deposited in the current bank account at Affin Bank Berhad. The sums deposited are wholly disproportionate to the accused’s means.
"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. The monies in these deposits form the subject matter of the first to 12th charges in this case,” he said in his opening statement on the first day of Rosmah’s money laundering trial before Justice K. Muniandy on Thursday (Aug 24).
Ahmad Akram added that for completeness, it must be said that the monies in question were never disclosed to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) as required by written law, and neither was any income tax ever paid on these monies.
Thus, Ahmad Akram said that the prosecution will prove that the accused when questioned by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers made false statements concerning the monies which she had paid into her account.
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"The prosecution will produce as part of its case, statements recorded from the accused under Section 32(3) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA).
"It is the prosecution’s case that when the totality of the evidence is considered as a whole, the conduct of the accused in all the circumstances of the case fairly supports the irresistible inference that the deposits in question were proceeds of unlawful activity contrary to Section 4(1)(a) of AMLA.
"The evidence that the prosecution will produce will equally establish that the deposits in question can be reasonably believed to be property that are proceeds of unlawful activity. As we have already said, the accused did not declare her deposits to LHDN as required by written law,” said Ahmad Akram.
He also said the former prime minister's wife thereby contravened Section 112 of the Income Tax Act 1967, which is a scheduled offence under AMLATFPUAA. It is therefore a serious offence, the commission of which constitutes unlawful activity and is by definition, money laundering.
"On the aforesaid facts, the prosecution will establish that the accused committed the offence of money laundering as alleged in the charges against her. My Lord, with the leave of the court, the prosecution will call its first witness,” said the prosecutor.
Rosmah, 71, is facing 12 money laundering charges involving RM7,097,750, and five counts of failure to declare her income to the LHDN.
She allegedly committed the offences at Affin Bank Berhad, Bangunan Getah Asli branch, Jalan Ampang here between Dec 4, 2013 and June 8, 2017, and at LHDN Kompleks Bangunan Kerajaan, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim here between May 1, 2014 and May 1, 2018.- Bernama
