KUALA LUMPUR – Former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin arrived at the courts complex here in a wheelchair to face a charge of failing to declare his assets.
The 85-year-old, who looked frail in a purple shirt and black suit, was accompanied by his wife Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid and lawyers.
He is expected to face a charge of failing to declare 71 assets involving accounts, vehicles, companies, land, houses and buildings, according to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.
The charge will be under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009.
Daim, who was recently discharged from hospital, had been given a notice by the MACC to declare his assets within 30 days from the date of the notice on June 7 last year.
He applied for extensions five times, and after still failing to declare his assets, had his commercial building Ilham Tower seized by the MACC last month.
The investigation into the powerful former finance minister and close ally of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad began last February, over information linked to his naming in the Pandora Papers.
Besides provisions under the MACC Act 2009, Daim is also being investigated under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, the MACC has said.
On January 23, Daim’s wife, Na’imah, 67, was also charged in the Kuala Lumpur sessions court for similarly failing to comply with a notice to declare 12 properties, including Ilham Tower and several properties in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. She pleaded not guilty. – January 29, 2024