UPDATE: Rosmah and her aide plead not guilty to receiving bribe in Sarawak solar project

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 15): Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has been slapped with two counts of graft today, bringing the total number of charges against her to 19.

The latest charges against the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak are in relation to a solar hybrid project in rural Sarawak worth RM1.25 billion awarded to Bintulu-based Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd by the Ministry of Education.

Concurrently, four charges were pressed against Datuk Rizal Mansor, the former special officer to Najib, for soliciting monies for Rosmah and himself, as well as receiving RM500,000 — also from the same project.

Under the first charge against Rosmah, she is alleged to have asked — via Rizal — for RM187.5 million, representing 15% of the contract sum, from Saidi Abang Samsudin, managing director of Jepak, between March and April 2016 at Sunway Putra Mall here for assisting the company to obtain the contract.

Under the second charge, Rosmah was accused of receiving RM1.5 million from Saidi, also for helping Jepak obtain the same contract.

The two charges were read in front of Sessions Court justice Azman Ahmad, who later set Dec 10 as the next mention date.

Present in court were Najib, Umno secretary general Tan Sri Annuar Musa, Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim and former Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. Tengku Adnan was charged with two counts of graft in a separate case today.

Rosmah was represented by a seven-member defence team, comprising Datuk K Kumaraendran, Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent, Rajivan Nambiar, Reza Rahim, Lavinia Raja, Azrul Zulkifli Stork, and Iskandar Shah Ibrahim.

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutors (DPPs) Datuk Umar Saifuddin Jaafar and Mohd Muhkzany Fariz Mohd Mokhtar.

As for Rizal, he was charged with soliciting from Saidi the RM187.5 million on behalf of Rosmah. He was also charged with receiving a separate RM5 million bribe from Saidi, also on Rosmah's behalf, on Dec 20, 2016.

The other two charges against Rizal were for soliciting from Saidi RM25 million between March and April 2016, as well as receiving another RM500,000 on Dec 23, 2016 — for "ensuring" Rosmah helps Jepak Holdings secure the project.

Rizal was represented by Ridha Abdah Subri, while his prosecution was led by DPP Kamal Baharin Omar.

Sessions Court Justice Rozina Ayob fixed Nov 29 for Rizal's case to be mentioned.

Rosmah and Rizal both pleaded not guilty to all charges. Both were granted bail of RM1 million each, of which half is to be paid today and the remainder in seven days' time.

The charges against Rosmah and Rizal are under the Section 16(a)(A) Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, and provide for up to 20 years in jail and a fine of RM10,000 or a minimum of five times the gratification sum, whichever is higher.

On Oct 4, Rosmah claimed trial to 17 charges under Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLA) 2001 for receiving some RM7.1 million into her personal bank account. — theedgemarkets.com

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