MACC has confirmed that the recent seizure of Ilham Tower in Kuala Lumpur is related to its investigation into corruption and money laundering allegations against former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.
According to Utusan Malaysia, MACC chief Azam Baki confirmed the matter when contacted but has declined to shed further details on the case.
“When we investigate corruption and abuse of power allegations, and the case involves immovable assets, we are legally allowed to apply to the deputy public prosecutor (DPP) for seizure of the asset.
“That is what happened (in this case). It is under the DPP’s authority that we ordered the land office to put a caveat on the property,” he said, as quoted by the Malay daily this morning.
Three days ago, it was reported that MACC had seized Ilham Tower, a high commercial-value building owned by the family of Daim, who is also a close associate of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
According to Channel News Asia, a source said the action came after Daim refused to comply with requests from the MACC to disclose the financial holdings of both himself and his family.
The seizure is linked to an anti-money laundering investigation that began in late May into a corporate transaction worth RM2.3 billion in November 1997.
The transaction involved publicly listed Renong Bhd and United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM).
In a separate report this morning, Utusan Malaysia quoted sources saying that MACC is also investigating other assets related to Daim including a hotel and a banking institution overseas.
The anti-graft agency is looking into Daim’s businesses and how the corporate figure obtained all his assets.
Daim reportedly had refused to comment on the seizure of Ilham Tower.
In 2021, the former minister, who sat on the Council of Eminent Persons under the short-lived Pakatan Harapan government, had denied involvement in any wrongdoing and stressed that he had been “a successful and wealthy businessperson long before I entered politics”.
The response came after Malaysiakini reported on his offshore trusts. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.