Rosmah Mansor, wife of ousted Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, pleaded not guilty Thursday to 17 counts of money laundering.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, a government agency tasked with preventing fraud, announced Mansor’s arrest on Wednesday. Mansor, 66, was brought to the Sessions Court of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia’s capital) Thursday morning where she pleaded not guilty to all charges.
According to the Anti-Corruption Commission, Mansor is being charged under the 2001 Anti-Money Laundering, AntiTerrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act, under the “Money Laundering” section, which covers “any person who engages, directly or indirectly, in a transaction that involves proceeds of an unlawful activity or instrumentalities of an offence.”
In July Razak was charged on similar money-laundering accusations. Further charges were added in August and he made an appearance in Sessions Court in September, but he has since posted $1 million in bail. His next trial is scheduled for February 2019.
Mansor is accused of embezzling as much as USD $275 million worth of goods, particularly handbags and jewelry.