KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 19): Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has been granted a full acquittal in her RM7.1 million money-laundering and tax evasion case. 

This comes after the High Court allowed Rosmah’s application to strike out all 17 charges she faces in this trial. 

High Court judge K Muniandy ruled that the charges were bad in law. In reading out his brief grounds for about half an hour, the judge addressed the money-laundering and tax evasion charges separately.

In this trial, Rosmah faces 17 charges involving RM7.1 million transferred into her personal bank account between 2013 and 2017. The first 12 charges involve purported money-laundering offences while the other five are alleged tax evasion offences.

Rosmah was charged on Oct 4, 2018 of committing the offences. Her trial started on Aug 24 last year, with two prosecution witnesses taking the stand. But the trial was held up after she filed the application to strike out the charges two weeks later, on Sept 6.

Wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Rosmah has previously been found guilty of soliciting and receiving bribes in the graft case involving the implementation of solar hybrid system in 369 rural schools. Convicted in 2022 and sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined RM970 million, she is in the midst of appealing that case.

In his decision on Thursday, Muniandy said the prosecution did not specify the key elements of a money-laundering offence. In gist, he said a money-laundering offence needs to identify proceeds of an unlawful activity and transactions that show "placement, layering and integration".

"The transaction involving money laundering is not disclosed. The conduct of the accused is not disclosed in the charges. The monies referred to in the charges do not reveal a transaction as envisaged under [the Anti-Money Laundering Act]. What is unlawful activity is also not disclosed.

"But the proceeds of unlawful activity have appeared from nowhere. Without those elements, what is available on the charge is only an act of deposit of a sum of monies into the bank account, which by itself is not an offence known in law," he said.

In the first eight money-laundering charges, she is accused of committing the offence by directly engaging in a transaction involving proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to RM1.1 million that were deposited into her account.

In the ninth to 12th counts, she is accused of directly engaging in 227 transactions involving proceeds of unlawful activities totalling RM6 million, which were also deposited into her account.

As for the tax evasion charges, the court said there was an overlap with the first 12 charges which accounts for multiplicity.

Muniandy also said that failure to file a tax return is only a punishable offence once all avenues under the Income Tax Act 1967 have been exhausted. This was not done in Rosmah's case.  

In the 13th to 17th counts, she is charged with engaging in money laundering by failing to file a tax return on the sum that was deposited into her account as required under the Income Tax Act.

This includes that the income tax assessment has to be raised by the Director General of the Income Tax Department, followed by an appeal process. The Special Commissioner of Income Tax will make a final determination of the tax payable, after which one can still file a judicial review over that decision in the courts.

The judge also added the public prosecutor had framed the 13th to 17th charges under the assumption that the monies were "taxable" income.

Muniandy also noted there have been numerous postponements in the case since 2019.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib said the prosecution will appeal the decision.

Meanwhile, Rosmah still has a pending case with regards to graft pertaining to the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak. The merits of this main case will be heard at a later date.

The appellate court will first hear Rosmah's appeal against her failed application to recuse judge Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, who presided over the case. The hearing has been set for March.

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