Malaysia's ex-first lady questioned for 13 hours in 1MDB probe
By Rozanna Latiff KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian anti-graft investigators questioned Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, for nearly 13 hours on Wednesday over a corruption investigation at state fund 1MDB. Najib has been charged with money laundering, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in the investigation into how billions of dollars went missing from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
By Rozanna Latiff
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian anti-graft investigators questioned Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, for nearly 13 hours on Wednesday over a corruption investigation at state fund 1MDB.
Najib has been charged with money laundering, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in the investigation into how billions of dollars went missing from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Najib, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges and consistently denied wrongdoing, lost a national election in May.
Last week, Azam Baki, the deputy commissioner of operations at Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), said he could not rule out charges being filed against Rosmah.
Rosmah, who was questioned for three hours in June, arrived at MACC headquarters at around 0200 GMT and left at 1445 GMT.
Her lawyer, K.Kumaraendran, told reporters she had completed giving her statement to the MACC. He declined to comment further. As she left, she said only: "I'm OK."
Malaysian authorities have barred Najib and Rosmah from leaving the country. Their home and other properties linked to them have been searched by police as part of the 1MDB investigations.
The U.S. Department of Justice has alleged more than $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB and that about $680 million ended up in Najib's personal bank account.
The couple's world has been turned upside down since Najib's shock election defeat on May 9 to his one-time mentor Mahathir Mohamad, who swiftly reopened a probe into 1MDB.
Authorities have seized luxury goods to an estimated value of up to $275 million from their homes, including 567 handbags, 423 watches and - among 12,000 pieces of jewellery - 1,400 necklaces, 2,200 rings, 2,800 pairs of earrings and 14 tiaras.
Najib has said most of the items seized were gifts to his wife and daughter and had nothing to do with 1MDB.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Writing by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and John Stonestreet)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
also read
France, Germany to agree to NATO role against Islamic State - sources | Reuters
By Robin Emmott and John Irish | BRUSSELS/PARIS BRUSSELS/PARIS France and Germany will agree to a U.S. plan for NATO to take a bigger role in the fight against Islamic militants at a meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, but insist the move is purely symbolic, four senior European diplomats said.The decision to allow the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to join the coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq follows weeks of pressure on the two allies, who are wary of NATO confronting Russia in Syria and of alienating Arab countries who see NATO as pushing a pro-Western agenda."NATO as an institution will join the coalition," said one senior diplomat involved in the discussions. "The question is whether this just a symbolic gesture to the United States
China's Xi says navy should become world class | Reuters
BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for greater efforts to make the country's navy a world class one, strong in operations on, below and above the surface, as it steps up its ability to project power far from its shores.China's navy has taken an increasingly prominent role in recent months, with a rising star admiral taking command, its first aircraft carrier sailing around self-ruled Taiwan and a new aircraft carrier launched last month.With President Donald Trump promising a US shipbuilding spree and unnerving Beijing with his unpredictable approach on hot button issues including Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, China is pushing to narrow the gap with the U.S. Navy.Inspecting navy headquarters, Xi said the navy should "aim for the top ranks in the world", the Defence Ministry said in a statement about his visit."Building a strong and modern navy is an important mark of a top ranking global military," the ministry paraphrased Xi as saying.