KUALA LUMPUR – Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, has arrived at the court complex here at about 8.30am to face anti-graft charges today.
Dressed in a light green floral baju kurung, she is accompanied by one of her sons, Muhammed Amir Zainuddin, and two lawyers.
She was spotted arriving in a Toyota Estima, similar to the one she arrived in when she was called in for questioning at MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.
Na’imah, 67, is expected to be charged Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009 over her failure to declare assets.
Last night, she vowed to fight the charge levelled against her while defending her family’s fortunes.
“I will be in court tomorrow. I will fight this charge.”
Previously, she said Daim’s fortunes were reaped from his businesses and legitimate investments before his foray into politics in 1984.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Anti-Money Laundering Division Director Datuk Mohammad Zamri Zainul Abidin told Scoop last night that Na’imah is expected to be charged under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009.
Months ago, the agency issued Daim and his family members a notice under Section 36(1)(b) of the MACC Act 2009, which compels them to declare all movable and immovable assets in Malaysia and abroad within 30 days.
On January 19, Na’imah said the recent “sensationalist” news reports of the Daim family’s wealth have painted them in a bad light, even though its offshore assets are no secret.
She was referring to the reports that she and her two sons – Muhammad Amin Zainuddin and Muhammad Amir Zainuddin – are said to be beneficiaries of a trust with US$52.5 million (RM247.5 million) in assets, eclipsing Daim’s assets listed in the Pandora Papers.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reported that Na’imah had set up ZA Star Trust in 2010, with investments in three British Virgin Islands companies.
According to leaked records from a Cayman Islands financial services firm, two companies own properties in London, including an eighth-floor office building near St Paul’s Cathedral, which was bought in 2014 for US$50.8 million.
Currently, Daim is being investigated by the MACC over the revelations in the Pandora Papers, which linked him and his proxies to offshore businesses worth at least US$31 million.
Earlier, sources said the MACC probe into Daim would include his role in the 1998 over-the-counter stock-trading system in Singapore known as CLOB (Central Limit Order Book) as well as “forced divestments” by those on the opposing political divide.
Last week, Daim’s legal team, led by former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, went to the high court here to challenge MACC’s probe.
MACC’s investigation into Daim was opened nearly a year ago, in February 2023, based on the mention of his name in the 2021 Pandora Papers. No charges have been brought against him yet. – January 23, 2024