Ex-Malaysian PM's wife charged with money laundering

Kuala Lumpur: A Malaysian court on Thursday charged former Prime Minister Najib Razak's wife for money-laundering related to a corruption scandal.

Rosmah Mansor, 66, faces a total of 17 counts of charges under Malaysia's the anti-money laundering laws, reports Xinhua news agency.

She pleaded not guilty to each charge.

Rosmah was arrested by Malaysia's anti-corruption body on Wednesday.

Her husband Najib has been hit with more than 30 charges including abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering related to the state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scam.

He founded the 1MDB in 2009 and presided over till 2016.

A news report in 2015 alleged that Najib had diverted $681 million from 1MDb into his personal account.

He denied the allegations, saying the money was a donation from a Saudi prince. He was cleared by Malaysian authorities while in power.

The US Department of Justice estimated that about $4.5 billion were diverted from 1MDB, of which about $1 billion could have been laundered in the US through the purchase of real estate, yachts, jewellery and works of art, among other goods.