http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/19/world/asia/award-malaysia-children-group-unesco.html 2016-09-19 04:50:46 Award Canceled for Children’s Group With Ties to Malaysia’s First Lady Organizers of a high-profile event held during the United Nations conclave balked amid questions about the finances of Rosmah Mansor and her husband, Prime Minister Najib Razak. === Organizers of a high-profile event to be held during the annual United Nations conclave this week have at the last minute canceled an award they had planned to give a Malaysian organization over concerns about its links to The event, to be held Thursday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, honors people and groups that have fought extremism. Among the scheduled honorees was Ms. Rosmah is known for her lavish spending on luxury items like Hermès Birkin bags. The couple’s family and close friends are at the center of a Justice Department lawsuit A statement on Sunday from The statement said that questions had been raised about the sources of Permata’s funding, and that although the event organizers were not aware of any specific wrongdoing, they did not have time to vet the organization. The event is co-hosted by the head of Unesco, Irina Bokova. Ms. Bokova is running to be secretary general of the United Nations, so her actions are also being closely scrutinized. Questions surrounding Malaysia’s prime minister and his wife have intensified since the Justice Department lawsuit was filed two months ago. Ms. Rosmah is not named in it, and Mr. Najib is referred only to as Malaysian Official 1. But Ms. Rosmah’s son from a first marriage — Riza Aziz, a movie producer — is named. The suit Mr. Najib has said he broke no laws and took nothing for personal gain. Malaysia is one of the 10 countries that hold a rotating seat on the In 2013, Mr. Najib gave a speech about the “moderate Muslim,” which caused controversy in Mr. Najib had lobbied strenuously for When Mr. Najib and Ms. Rosmah traveled to New York in the past, they stayed in the lavish Mandarin Oriental hotel, which is in the Time Warner complex, the location of one of the pricey properties included in the United States government’s asset forfeiture suit. That condo was purchased by a shell company and traced by The New York Times in a Mr. Low, also prominently named in the Justice Department case, has burnished his image with ties to the United Nations as well. In 2014, his family’s foundation, Jynwel, was a major sponsor of the Social Good Summit, an event thematically tied to the General Assembly session. And late that year, the Jynwel Foundation invested $25 million in Irin, the United Nations’ news service. A spokesman for the prime minister could not be reached for comment, and neither Unesco nor the United Nations Foundation immediately responded to a request for comment.