KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): A decision is near on Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's third letter of representation to drop all 17 charges in her money-laundering and tax-evasion case.
Rosmah’s counsel Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin informed the High Court on Friday that the parties have reached an "agreement" and asked for a later date to inform the court on the outcome.
“[...] We are pleased to have reached [an agreement], subject to, of course, this paperwork being completed and submitted," Firoz told judge K Muniandy.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib confirmed the matter, adding that now it is just a matter of finalising the documentation.
"I do confirm that the representation is reaching a final decision right now, and it's just a matter of documentation; to finalise the documentation before we can proceed with the order from the court," he said.
However, when met after proceedings, lawyers from both the prosecution and the defence remained tight-lipped about exactly what the "agreement" entailed.
To date, Rosmah's counsels have sent three letters of representation to the Attorney General's Chambers for the charges against her to be dropped.
Parties were set to continue submissions on Rosmah's application to strike out all the charges. However, Firoz informed the court that they will not be continuing with the submissions considering the latest development.
The court has set Sept 6 for the parties to inform the court of the final decision.
In the trial, Rosmah faces 17 charges involving RM7.1 million transferred into her personal bank account between 2013 and 2017.
The charges were framed under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA).
On the first eight counts, she is charged with money laundering by directly engaging in a transaction involving proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to RM1.1 million that were deposited into her account.
On the ninth to 12th counts, she is charged with directly engaging in 227 transactions involving proceeds of unlawful activities totalling RM6 million, which were also deposited into her account.
On the 13th to 17th counts, she is charged with engaging in money laundering by failing to file a return on the sum that was deposited into her account as required under the Income Tax Act 1967.