KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has been given the consent to charge Tun Daim Zainuddin in court, but it has to be deferred due to his health.
MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said they received the permission from the Attorney-General Chambers last week.
“I confirm that we received approval to charge Daim a week ago, but when our officers informed his lawyer about it, they told us he had been admitted to a private hospital,” Azam said when contacted by Bernama on Wednesday.
He said the former finance minister was admitted before MACC obtained the greenlight to press charges. However, there were no explanations as to the reason for his admittance.
Daim, whose real name is Che Abdul Daim Zainuddin, 86, is expected to face at least one charge for failing to declare several properties jointly owned with his wife.
Azam said MACC could bring a judge to the hospital where Daim is receiving treatment so that charges against him could be read, but he stressed that it would not be their first choice unless necessary.
MACC previously clarified that the investigation into Daim was initiated based on information obtained from the Pandora Papers, which disclosed details related to confidential documents of wealthy and influential individuals worldwide hiding their wealth through offshore services or companies outside of their countries.
The investigation is conducted under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 and Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
It was reported that in December last year, MACC had seized Menara Ilham in Kuala Lumpur, which is linked to Daim’s family.
