KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) said last night it decided to withdraw its appeal against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s acquittal on money laundering charges after concluding there was no realistic chance of overturning the ruling.

In a statement, the AGC said it had originally filed the appeal on December 20, 2024 against the High Court’s December 19, 2024 decision to strike out all 17 money laundering charges against Rosmah.

But after reviewing the High Court’s written grounds of judgment which the AGC received on October 30, the AGC decided not to pursue the appeal.

“After a full evaluation of the judgment, the AGC decided not to continue the appeal to the Court of Appeal, after being satisfied that there is no prospect of success if the appeal is continued.

“Among the factors that have been taken into account in making that decision is that if the appeal is continued, the prosecution will not be able to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt as required in a criminal trial, because several key witnesses required to prove the charges against the accused had passed away and can no longer be traced,” the statement said.

The AGC also said all factual and legal elements in the case were carefully scrutinised before reaching the decision.

The AGC said it filed a notice of discontinuance on December 9, which is the court document required for it to drop the appeal. 

Rosmah, 74, had faced 12 money laundering charges involving RM7.09 million and another five counts for allegedly failing to declare the same amount as income to the Inland Revenue Board.

The alleged offences were said to have taken place between December 4, 2013 and June 8, 2017, with charges filed on October 4, 2018.

Her trial over the 17 money laundering charges began on August 24, 2023, but came to a halt after she filed a striking-out application on September 6, 2023.

The AGC filed its notice of appeal on December 20, 2024, a day after then High Court judge K. Muniandy ruled the 17 money laundering charges were defective and decided to also acquit Rosmah of all these charges.

Since the AGC has now discontinued its appeal, Rosmah remains free of all 17 money laundering charges.

Yesterday, the AGC also said that Rosmah’s separate appeal in a corruption case related to a RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project for rural schools in Sarawak is still before the courts.

She was convicted in the High Court in 2022 on three corruption charges in that case, receiving a sentence for a 10-year jail term and a RM970 million fine.

The sentence has been stayed pending the outcome of her appeal at the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal has yet to hear Rosmah’s appeal against her conviction and sentence in this corruption case, as she is still pursuing her bid to remove the trial judge from that corruption case and the Federal Court will hear her bid on February 25 next year.

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