Goodbye Birkins. Malaysia S Former First Lady Could Join Her Husband Najib In Prison

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Rosmah Mansor, Malaysia’s former first lady, collected hundreds of expensive Hermes Birkin bags and diamond jewelry when her husband Najib Razak was prime minister. Now, Rosmah faces the prospect of going to jail with him for corruption after the Kuala Lumpur High Court sentenced her to 10 years in jail and a record $216 million fine for taking a bribe to help a company secure a contract from her husband’s management her. Rosmah, 70, is out on bail, but if she loses appeals at two higher courts, she will be behind bars, ending the multi-million dollar shopping spree. The former first lady, considered a powerful figure behind Najib, is widely despised in Malaysia for her extravagant lifestyle and penchant for Birkin bags – which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each. Police found 12,000 individual pieces of jewelry, 567 luxury bags, 423 watches and $26 million in cash at properties linked to the couple after Najib’s surprise defeat in the 2018 election when voters showed disgust over a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal dollars in sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Najib last week began a 12-year prison sentence after losing an appeal in the first of several cases brought against him over 1MDB. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Rosmah has been torn apart by questions about her large role in the Najib administration and the source of her wealth. “Per se, she held no official position. However, she wielded significant influence because of her authoritarian nature,” prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram said at the opening of Rosmah’s 2020 trial on bribery charges for a $279 million solar power contract. Rosmah described these allegations as character assassination and pleaded not guilty to all charges against her. Prosecutors say Rosmah demanded a bribe of 187.5 million ringgit ($41.85 million) and received 6.5 million ringgit from an employee of the company that won the solar project. Some of it was delivered in two bags filled with cash at the couple’s residence, they say. The story continues Rosmah also faces money laundering and tax evasion charges in a separate case. ‘CAN I ADVISE YOU?’ In 2009, Singapore’s founder and then-minister-mentor Lee Kuan Yew sought a meeting with Rosmah during an official visit to Malaysia, saying it was necessary to understand the pair who “worked as a team”. Malaysians got a glimpse of the first couple’s dynamic in a 2016 recording released by investigators, in which a distraught Rosmah can be heard telling Najib how to deal with the 1MDB graft scandal swirling around him. “Can I give you some advice? Dear, you are the prime minister and you have to take responsibility, no one else?” he says, before adding, “You have people around you to advise you.” He went on to tell Najib how to handle aides and foreign officials who were also caught up in the scandal. Rosmah has not been charged over 1MDB, but US and Malaysian investigators say she was bought expensive jewelery with $4.5 billion in stolen funds, including a $27 million pink diamond necklace. The necklace was arranged for her by Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, who investigators say was close to Najib and central to the 1MDB scandal. Lowe became a fugitive and his whereabouts are unknown. Najib said he met Jho Low through Riza Aziz, Rosmah’s son from her first marriage. Rosmah married Najib in 1987, the second marriage for both. Riza used some of the stolen 1MDB money to finance the 2013 Hollywood film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” investigators say. Riza later agreed with US and Malaysian investigators to return some of the assets obtained from stolen 1MDB funds, and the case against him in Malaysia was dropped. CONTINUED APPEARANCES Rosmah sparked further outrage when details of the scale of the 1MDB scandal were made public. The Wall Street Journal reported that she spent at least $6 million between 2008 and 2015 shopping in London, New York and elsewhere. Despite her rich tastes, Rosmah came from humble beginnings. In her 2013 autobiography, Rosmah wrote that she faced financial difficulties as a student and earned a meager salary in her first job at a rural bank. Inevitably, given the importance she placed on accessories, Rosmah has been likened to Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines, who left behind more than 1,200 pairs of shoes when her husband was ousted in 1986. “As a woman and a leader’s wife, I have to look made-up, neat and take care of my appearance. It is also embarrassing for Malaysians when other countries make fun of the sloppy wife of the Malaysian prime minister,” said Rosmah. in her autobiography, defending her tastes. ($1 = 4.4800 ringgit) (Reporting by Mei Mei Chu and A. Ananthalakshmi; additional reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

title: “Goodbye Birkins. Malaysia S Former First Lady Could Join Her Husband Najib In Prison Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-27” author: “Sarah Ashworth”

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Rosmah Mansor, Malaysia’s former first lady, collected hundreds of expensive Hermes Birkin bags and diamond jewelry when her husband Najib Razak was prime minister. Now, Rosmah faces the prospect of going to jail with him for corruption after the Kuala Lumpur High Court sentenced her to 10 years in jail and a record $216 million fine for taking a bribe to help a company secure a contract from her husband’s management her. Rosmah, 70, is out on bail, but if she loses appeals at two higher courts, she will be behind bars, ending the multi-million dollar shopping spree. The former first lady, considered a powerful figure behind Najib, is widely despised in Malaysia for her extravagant lifestyle and penchant for Birkin bags – which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each. Police found 12,000 individual pieces of jewelry, 567 luxury bags, 423 watches and $26 million in cash at properties linked to the couple after Najib’s surprise defeat in the 2018 election when voters showed disgust over a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal dollars in sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Najib last week began a 12-year prison sentence after losing an appeal in the first of several cases brought against him over 1MDB. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Rosmah has been torn apart by questions about her large role in the Najib administration and the source of her wealth. “Per se, she held no official position. However, she wielded significant influence because of her authoritarian nature,” prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram said at the opening of Rosmah’s 2020 trial on bribery charges for a $279 million solar power contract. Rosmah described these allegations as character assassination and pleaded not guilty to all charges against her. Prosecutors say Rosmah demanded a bribe of 187.5 million ringgit ($41.85 million) and received 6.5 million ringgit from an employee of the company that won the solar project. Some of it was delivered in two bags filled with cash at the couple’s residence, they say. The story continues Rosmah also faces money laundering and tax evasion charges in a separate case. ‘CAN I ADVISE YOU?’ In 2009, Singapore’s founder and then-minister-mentor Lee Kuan Yew sought a meeting with Rosmah during an official visit to Malaysia, saying it was necessary to understand the pair who “worked as a team”. Malaysians got a glimpse of the first couple’s dynamic in a 2016 recording released by investigators, in which a distraught Rosmah can be heard telling Najib how to deal with the 1MDB graft scandal swirling around him. “Can I give you some advice? Dear, you are the prime minister and you have to take responsibility, no one else?” he says, before adding, “You have people around you to advise you.” He went on to tell Najib how to handle aides and foreign officials who were also caught up in the scandal. Rosmah has not been charged over 1MDB, but US and Malaysian investigators say she was bought expensive jewelery with $4.5 billion in stolen funds, including a $27 million pink diamond necklace. The necklace was arranged for her by Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, who investigators say was close to Najib and central to the 1MDB scandal. Lowe became a fugitive and his whereabouts are unknown. Najib said he met Jho Low through Riza Aziz, Rosmah’s son from her first marriage. Rosmah married Najib in 1987, the second marriage for both. Riza used some of the stolen 1MDB money to finance the 2013 Hollywood film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” investigators say. Riza later agreed with US and Malaysian investigators to return some of the assets obtained from stolen 1MDB funds, and the case against him in Malaysia was dropped. CONTINUED APPEARANCES Rosmah sparked further outrage when details of the scale of the 1MDB scandal were made public. The Wall Street Journal reported that she spent at least $6 million between 2008 and 2015 shopping in London, New York and elsewhere. Despite her rich tastes, Rosmah came from humble beginnings. In her 2013 autobiography, Rosmah wrote that she faced financial difficulties as a student and earned a meager salary in her first job at a rural bank. Inevitably, given the importance she placed on accessories, Rosmah has been likened to Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines, who left behind more than 1,200 pairs of shoes when her husband was ousted in 1986. “As a woman and a leader’s wife, I have to look made-up, neat and take care of my appearance. It is also embarrassing for Malaysians when other countries make fun of the sloppy wife of the Malaysian prime minister,” said Rosmah. in her autobiography, defending her tastes. ($1 = 4.4800 ringgit) (Reporting by Mei Mei Chu and A. Ananthalakshmi; additional reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)