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Malaysia to Charge Wife of 1MDB-Tainted Former Premier Najib

Malaysia to Charge Wife of 1MDB-Tainted Former Premier Najib

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysian prosecutors will bring more charges against the wife of ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday, the anti-graft agency said, stepping up legal action against a growing group of individuals surrounding Najib.

Rosmah Mansor was called in by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Wednesday. She will appear in court the following day to face charges in several cases linked to solar power supply and installation projects in schools in Sarawak state, MACC said in a statement. Najib’s former special officer Rizal Mansor will also be charged in the same cases.

The allegations are the latest chapter in the stunning downfall of Najib and his family after he lost power in May. Rosmah was charged on Oct. 4 with 17 counts of handling funds from unlawful activities involving 7.1 million ringgit. Najib, faces dozens of money-laundering, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust charges related to 1MDB, the state fund that lies at the center of multiple globe-spanning probes from Switzerland to Singapore.

Both have pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges.

In a separate case, prosecutors will charge Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, who served as Federal Territories Minister under Najib, as well as businessman Tan Eng Boon, in relation to the sale of Kuala Lumpur City Hall land. Tengku Adnan was secretary-general of the United Malays National Organisation, which held power in Malaysia for six decades until its ouster in May.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who returned to power in May with pledges to get to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal, has said he isn’t seeking revenge and focused his efforts on recouping money lost through the state fund. He is targeting to regain $4.5 billion.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anisah Shukry in Kuala Lumpur at ashukry2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Yudith Ho at yho35@bloomberg.net, Stephanie Phang

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