PETALING JAYA: The iconic 60-storey Ilham Tower, owned by the family of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, has been seized by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
According to a notice by the MACC, the anti-graft agency had seized the tower after it found an offence under the MACC Act 2009 in information provided to them.
"Take notice that according to Section 38(5) of the MACC Act 2009, whereby anyone that goes against this notice or carry out any actions that is against this notice, has committed an offence that can be fined no more than twice the amount of the said value, or RM50,000, or whichever higher amount, and can be jailed for a period no longer than two years," the notice read.
The notice was posted in an advertisement which MACC placed in a local media on Dec 21, about its seizure of Bangunan Menara Ilham.
An office worker at Menara Ilham said that despite the MACC seizure notice, it was still "business as usual" at Menara Ilham.
"No comments. But it was business as usual," said the unnamed staff briefly.
Attempts to get Daim’s comments on the matter are still ongoing.
Meanwhile, Singapore-based Channel News Asia (CNA) quoted financial executives close to Daim as saying the seizure took place on Dec 18 after Daim’s refusal to submit to MACC’s petition to declare his and his family’s financial holdings.
CNA claimed that Daim told MACC officials that he had nothing to do with the Renong-UEM deal and in early December, the former finance minister was told by MACC that he would no longer receive any extension,
It was reported that Daim maintained that the deal which involved UEM acquiring a 33% interest in Renong was purely a corporate transaction between companies that were governed by their respective managements, board of directors and shareholders.
It was believed to be part of an anti-money laundering probe that started in late May regarding a corporate transaction valued RM2.3bil (US$500mil) in Nov 1997 involving public-listed Renong Bhd and United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM), which were both linked with Umno.
As of press time, The Star is also currently trying to reach out to MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.
Menara Ilham, estimated to be constructed at the cost of US$580mil (RM2.7bil) is located in the vicinity of prime commercial and high-rise residential properties around the KLCC.
In May this year, MACC had said it was gathering information involving alleged misappropriation of RM2.3bil by a former minister and a businessman.
Sources said the probe is a continuation to the disclosure of confidential documents by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICJ), also known as the Pandora Papers, which is over transactions carried out at offshore financial centres.
The Pandora Papers refer to the millions of leaked documents made public in Oct 2021, which allegedly revealed offshore accounts of present and past leaders from around the world, including presidents, prime ministers, billionaires, and prominent business people.
