Ex Malaysia PM's wife sentenced to 10 years' jail, fined US$216mil

Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan also ordered that the prison time run concurrently from the date of judgment, which means that the former prime minister's wife faces 10 years in jail.

He also fined her RM970mil, in default 30 years in jail, if she fails to pay.

The court allowed a stay of execution on the sentence pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, arrived in court on Thursday to hear the verdict on charges against her of seeking bribes in exchange for government contracts, just days after her husband was jailed for corruption.

Rosmah, 70, who has drawn criticism over her extravagant lifestyle, is facing three counts of soliciting and receiving bribes involving funds amounting to 194 million ringgit ($48.09 million) to help a company secure a government project. She has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Najib was voted out in a 2018 election, amid widespread public anger at government corruption and allegations that more than a billion dollars in 1MDB funds had been transferred into his personal accounts.