KUALA LUMPUR – Corporate figure and former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin is being investigated for corruption and money laundering, confirms the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) following the recent seizure of the Ilham Tower here.
Although MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed this, he did not elaborate further on the details of the investigation, Utusan Malaysia reported.
He also said that the building’s seizure, which was issued on Monday, will not affect its operations.
He added that the MACC is permitted to send seizure applications to the deputy public prosecutor when investigating corruption and misuse of power that involves property, under the MACC Act.
“We used the power given to the deputy public prosecutor to order the land office to issue a caveat on the land,” he said, adding that the same process had been used by the MACC for such investigations.
This was to block any act of selling, transferring ownership, or disposing of the building as a whole, or any part of it.
On December 18, the MACC seized Ilham Tower, in connection with Daim’s involvement in an alleged embezzlement case involving RM2.3 billion in public funds in the 1990s.
The seizure came after the MACC initiated an investigation into Daim’s financial holdings in May.
During the 1990s, Daim was the finance minister, and the government led by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad oversaw the “forced” takeover of shares of the public-listed company Renong Bhd.
In November 1997, UEM, Malaysia’s largest infrastructure firm, purchased a 33% stake in Renong for RM2.3 billion, leading to the latter’s value plummeting as investors dumped shares in both firms.
This happened during the Asian financial crisis in 1997, and was dubbed a bailout of certain business figures closely linked to the government at that time.
Daim has acknowledged the various reports on alleged corruption lodged against him since leaving public office. He asserted that he had never been charged.
Despite Ilham Tower’s seizure, numerous employees of the building said it was “business as usual” for them. – December 23, 2023