Malaysia Charges Ex-Premier Najib's Wife With Money Laundering

Oct 04 2018, 2:00 AMOct 04 2018, 3:06 AMOctober 04 2018, 2:00 AMOctober 04 2018, 3:06 AM

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysian prosecutors laid money-laundering charges against the wife of former Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Rosmah Mansor pleaded not guilty to 17 counts of handling funds from unlawful activities involving more than 5 million ringgit ($1.2 million). On the same Thursday morning, Najib arrived at a separate court for his case management of money laundering charges related to 1MDB, the state fund that lies at the center of multiple globe-spanning probes from Switzerland to Singapore.

The allegations are a first for Rosmah and a sign that Malaysian investigators are widening their scope beyond the former premier. Previous charges have centered around Najib, fueling his assertion that the renewed probe is a “politically motivated” move. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who returned to power in May on a campaign to get to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal, has said he isn’t seeking revenge and has focused his efforts on recouping money lost through the state fund with a target of $4.5 billion.