KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor received millions of ringgit into her bank account despite being unemployed, the High Court heard today.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib also contended that the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also never disclosed to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) about the monies she received.
He said this in his opening speech during Rosmah's money laundering trial involving RM7.1 million before judge Muniandy Kannyappan.
"At all times material to the charges before the court, the accused was not gainfully employed.
"She, therefore, had no independent source of any lawful income.
"Yet, during the relevant period she caused large sums of money to be deposited into her current account at Affin Bank.
"The sums deposited are wholly disproportionate to the accused's means," he said.
Akram said the accused used the services of Seri Perdana Complex residential house manager Roslan Sohari to make these deposits on her behalf.
The monies, he said, were subsequently utilised by the accused to pay telephone and credit card bills incurred by the accused and members of her family.
"She did this through cheques which she signed.
"The prosecution will prove that the accused made false statements about the monies when she was investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
"It is the prosecution's case that when the totality of the evidence is considered as a whole, the conduct of the accused in all the circumstances of the case fairly supports the irresistible inference that the deposits in question were proceeds of unlawful activity contrary to section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
"The evidence that the prosecution will produce will equally establish that the deposits in question can be reasonably believed to be property that are proceeds of unlawful activity," he added.
Rosmah is facing 12 charges of money laundering involving RM7,097,750 and five charges of failing to declare her income to the IRB.
She is accused of committing the offences between Dec 4, 2013, and June 8, 2017.