PARLIAMENT | Apart from the MACC, Bank Negara Malaysia, Inland Revenue Board, and the police are also investigating the contents exposed in the Pandora Papers leak in 2021.
According to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said, the investigations were ongoing and the authorities required additional information from abroad.
In a written parliamentary reply, she confirmed that the MACC was investigating several individuals named in the Pandora Papers that are related to issues of corruption, abuse of power, and embezzlement.
Azalina was responding to Fong Kui Lun (Pakatan Harapan-Bukit Bintang), who had asked if the government would reopen its investigation into the Pandora Papers.
The Pandora Papers refer to a leak of financial documents and other records from 14 offshore service providers that set up and manage shell companies and trusts in tax havens around the globe.
The documents were disclosed to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which in turn provided access to its partners, including Malaysiakini.
It was reported yesterday that the MACC has recorded statements from a former minister regarding his offshore wealth exposed in the leaked documents.
Utusan Malaysia and the New Straits Times reported that the ex-minister’s statement was recorded at MACC’s headquarters in Putrajaya on Monday, while a former prime minister’s son was summoned for questioning yesterday.
An unnamed source reportedly told the news outlets the investigation is still at an early stage and more people will likely be questioned in relation to the Pandora Papers soon.
The individuals summoned for questioning were not named, as with common practice when it comes to people who have yet to be charged in court.
However, the former minister was described as a senior official in Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration and was reportedly asked, among others, to explain the money flow and investment into 12 offshore companies registered under him and his family members abroad.
Among the Malaysian politicians found to have kept their wealth in tax havens include Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, and several others.
They each said in 2021 that their accounts were used for legitimate purposes.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in 2021, then an opposition leader, had proposed to debate the allegations concerning Malaysian politicians and business people detailed in the Pandora Papers exposé in the Dewan Rakyat.
However, former speaker of the Lower House Azhar Azizan Harun rejected the motion on the basis that it did not fulfil the criteria for urgent debate. - Mkini
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