Former Malaysian finance minister Daim Zainuddin and his wife have reportedly been charged for failing to disclose assets. This was part of an anti-corruption investigation launched based on revelations in Pandora Papers, reported ICIJ.
Zainuddin and his associates came under the lens of the country's Anti-Corruption Commission in 2023 after Malaysiakini, a media partner of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, exposed their links to companies and trusts based in British Virgin Islands, holding assets worth $31 million.
Who is Daim Zainuddin?
Zainuddin, 85, was the Malaysian finance minister during 1984-1991 and 1999-2001.
He could get up to five years imprisonment along with a fine if found guilty. He is charged with not declaring 71 assets, including dozens of companies, real estate and luxury cars, according to Malaysiakini.
The former minister has denied all the charges against him and pleaded not guilty. Wheelchair-ridden Zainuddin was granted bail after his lawyer cited health issues, reported Reuters. His wife Naimah Khalid has also pleaded not guilty.
The anti-graft panel said it is also probing another Cayman Islands-registered offshore family trust worth about $52.5 million. The couple's two youngest sons are the beneficiaries of this trust which was used for investments in the US and the UK, reported ICIJ, citing documents.
Naimah, in a statement, alleged that the assets "were product of legitimate business and investment activities, going back long before Daim joined politics in 1984."
