Former Malaysian finance minister Daim Zainuddin to be charged ...
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's former finance minister Daim Zainuddin will be charged on Monday (Jan 29) for allegedly failing to comply with a notice to declare his assets.
The case against the 85-year-old Daim, whose real name is Che Abdul Daim Zainuddin, will be mentioned at 9am.
On Saturday, Daim said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had recorded his statement.
"My lawyer has been informed and I will be charged this Monday for an offence under Section 36 (2) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which is an offence related to the disclosure of assets," he said in a statement.
Azam Baki, the chief commissioner of the country's anti-graft agency, said last Thursday MACC had received permission to charge Daim, but the process was deferred due to his health.
Daim was admitted to a private hospital before MACC obtained the go-ahead, according to Azam.
On Jan 23, Daim's wife Na'imah Abdul Khalid, 66, pleaded not guilty in a Kuala Lumpur sessions court after she was charged for failing to declare assets, including the multimillion-dollar Ilham Tower.
She is accused of deliberately giving a written statement under oath that did not comply with the terms of a notice from MACC.
The undeclared assets include Ilham Tower, the companies Ilham Tower and Ilham Baru, two Mercedes-Benz cars and several properties in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
She faces up to five years' jail and a fine of up to RM100,000 (US$21,117) if found guilty.
"No crime was committed by me and I will prove this in court," Na'imah said in a statement outside the court.
"The real crime is the plot to tarnish my husband's reputation. The real crime is the wielding of state power for personal ends and not for the benefit of the people."
Na'imah was granted bail of RM250,000 with one surety and ordered to surrender her passport to the court.
According to MACC, the investigation into Daim was based on information obtained from the Pandora Papers leak in 2021. Investigations were opened in February last year.
The Pandora Papers are troves of documents, leaked in 2021, that revealed the hidden wealth of world leaders, billionaires and celebrities who used offshore companies to acquire mansions, private jets and stakes in companies.
Daim is among the names of nine Malaysians unveiled in the Pandora Papers, but Na’imah is not named.
