PUTRAJAYA: The prosecution has abandoned its appeal to reverse a High Court ruling last year that acquitted Rosmah Mansor of her 17 money laundering and tax evasion charges without going through a trial.
Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, a member of Rosmah’s legal team, said they were served with a copy of the notice of discontinuance filed in the Court of Appeal two days ago.
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In the notice, deputy public prosecutor Saiful Edris Zainuddin said the prosecution did not intend to pursue the appeal.
A notice of appeal was filed on Dec 20, 2024, a day after Justice K Muniandy ruled that the charges against the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak were illegal and flawed as they did not comply with provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code.
“The charges amounted to duplicity and multiplicity. Furthermore, they did not disclose any offence,” Muniandy had said.
Muniandy, who is now a Court of Appeal judge, had said the money laundering charges were defective as they only revealed that Rosmah had deposited money in her account at Affin Bank Bhd.
“Merely depositing money is not tantamount to indulging in unlawful activities and committing money laundering offences,” he had said, adding that the accused could not be left guessing when preparing her defence.
Muniandy also said the five tax evasion charges brought under the Income Tax Act 1967 were premature as Rosmah’s appeal on the tax assessment was still pending before the Special Commissioners of Income Tax.
Rosmah, who turned 74 yesterday, was standing trial on 12 money laundering charges involving RM7.09 million and five charges of failing to declare her income to the Inland Revenue Board.
She was accused of committing the offences between Dec 4, 2013 and June 8, 2017, and was charged on Oct 4, 2018.
Trial began on Aug 24, 2023, with two prosecution witnesses taking the stand. It stalled two weeks later after Rosmah filed her striking-out application on Sept 6.
