More may follow for Daim

PUTRAJAYA: Menara Ilham belonging to Tun Daim Zainuddin and his family may not be their only asset to be seized. Several of their other assets may also be confiscated, following what graft investigators claim is a failure to explain the source of funds to buy the real estate.

“This (more seizures) is a possibility. If it is necessary for assets to be seized, investigators will proceed to apply for seizure,” said a source.

Other sources with knowledge of the investigation said officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had sought an explanation from the former finance minister on the source of funds but had received no response.

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, when asked about the investigations on Daim, said his officers were probing allegations of corruption and money laundering – but declined to reveal details of the cases.

He said the seizure of Menara Ilham was a normal process and was meant to prevent the building from being sold while the investigation was ongoing.

ALSO READ: Daim’s Ilham Tower seized by MACC

Azam said the seizure would not affect operations and that companies, shops and offices in the building could continue operating.

“When we investigate allegations of corruption and power abuse and there are non-movable assets involved, we are allowed under the MACC Act to submit to the Deputy Public Prosecutor for the asset to be seized.

“This is what happened. We used the power of the DPP to instruct the Land Office to place a caveat on the land,” he explained.

Azam said the same process had been done on numerous occasions during MACC’s course of investigation.

“This (Menara Ilham seizure) is not the only case,” said Azam.

ALSO READ: MACC seizes Daim's Menara Ilham

He said that in early 2000, the agency had seized several plots of land belonging to a former senior government officer who was believed to have obtained the property through corrupt means.

According to a notice published in a newspaper, the 60-storey Menara Ilham, built at a estimated cost of RM2.7bil, was seized after it was found to be involved in an offence under the MACC Act 2009.

“Take notice that according to Section 38(5) of the MACC Act 2009, whereby anyone that goes against this notice, has committed an offence that could be fined no more than twice the amount of said value, or RM50,000, or whichever higher amount, and can be jailed for a period no longer than two years,” read the notice.

The MACC had placed the notice, dated Dec 18, in a local newspaper.

Reports quoted financial executives close to Daim as saying that the seizure was effected on Thursday after Daim’s refusal to submit to MACC’s petition to declare his and his family’s financial holdings.