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MACC seizes Daim’s US$580m Ilham Tower
UPDATE:
MACC probing Daim for alleged corruption, money laundering, says report
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Azam Baki says the seizure of Ilham Tower, reportedly belonging to Daim Zainuddin and his family, is a normal process.
FMT Reporters023, 12:20
Azam Baki said several other assets belonging to Daim Zainuddin and his family may also be seized, following an alleged failure to explain the source of funds to purchase the properties. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki has revealed that the agency is probing Daim Zainuddin for alleged corruption and money laundering, following the seizure of a skyscraper, The Star reported.
Azam confirmed that his officers are investigating the former finance minister on allegations of corruption and money laundering, but declined to comment further on details, according to the daily.
He added that the recent seizure of the 60-storey Ilham Tower, reportedly belonging to Daim and his family, was a normal process and meant to prevent the building from being sold while investigations was still ongoing.
Azam assured that the actions taken by the agency would not disrupt operations, allowing the businesses within the building to continue as usual.
“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 (DPP) 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 was quoted as saying.
Azam said the same process had been done on numerous occasions before during the MACC’s course of an investigation, stressing that this was not the only such case.
Meanwhile, The Star quoted a source as saying that several other assets belonging to Daim and his family may also be confiscated by the MACC, following an alleged failure to explain the source of funds to purchase the properties.
“This (more seizures) is a possibility. If it is necessary for more assets to be seized, our investigators will proceed with the application for seizure,” the source said, according to the daily.
On Wednesday, it was reported that MACC seized Ilham Tower under Section 38(1) of the MACC Act 2009, which deals with the seizure of immovable property.
A source then told FMT that the seizure was made pending undisclosed investigations.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has denied any ulterior motive behind the seizure of the building, saying it was proof that the anti-graft agency would investigate anyone regardless of their background and position.
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22, 2023: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has reportedly seized the US$580 million Ilham Tower owne4d by the family of ex-finance minister Daim Zainuddin.
Channel News Asia (CNA) reported yesterday that the seizure was a significant escalation in an ongoing investigation into contentious transactions involving corporate entities once under the control of Umno.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below news reports on the case:
Malaysia’s anti-graft agency cracks down on former finance minister Daim, seizes his flagship property Ilham Tower
Under the seizure order, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will on paper take control of the US$580 million building, which is located near the iconic Petronas Twin Towers in downtown Kuala Lumpur.
Former finance minister Daim Zainuddin has been caught in the cross-hairs of the country's anti-graft agency, which has seized control of his flagship property Ilham Tower in one of Kuala Lumpur's choicest commercial zones. (Photo: CNA)
21 Dec 2023 08:25PM(Updated: 21 Dec 2023 08:48PM)
KUALA LUMPUR: The multi-million-dollar Ilham Tower, a prime commercial building owned by the family of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, has been seized by Malaysia’s anti-graft agency, sources say, in a sharp escalation to an ongoing probe into controversial transactions by corporate entities previously controlled by the one-time ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
Financial executives close to Mr Daim, who wielded enormous power during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s two stints as premier, told CNA that the seizure took place on Thursday (Dec 21), following the former politician’s refusal to submit to petitions from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to declare his and his family’s financial holdings.
The MACC’s move against Mr Daim is part of an anti-money laundering investigation that began in late May into a corporate transaction valued RM2.3 billion (US$500 million) in November 1997 involving publicly listed Renong Bhd and United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM), two entities that were former cornerstones of the business empire tied to the one-time ruling UMNO party.
MACC officials could not be reached for immediate comment and Mr Daim, who served as UMNO treasurer between 1984 and 2001, declined comment for this article.
A view of ILHAM Tower, a Malaysian landmark in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: ILHAM Tower)
Financial executives close to Mr Daim said that the former politician received an order from the MACC in late May to declare his financial holdings and other assets belonging to members of his family.
But Mr Daim rebuffed those demands and had insisted during questioning by the MACC officials that he had nothing to do with the Renong-UEM deal.
Mr Daim maintained that the corporate deal, which involved UEM acquiring a 33 per cent interest in Renong, was purely a corporate transaction between companies that were governed by their respective managements, board of directors and shareholders, financial executives close to the former politician said.
Mr Daim also sought extensions to furnish details on his financial holdings and requested that the agency disclose the reasons behind the asset declaration petition, including the alleged offences he was being investigated under.
Sources told CNA that in early December Mr Daim had received a notification from the MACC that he would no longer receive any further extension, leading to seizure on Thursday of his flagship Ilham Tower.
Under the seizure order, the MACC will take control of the property on paper.
The building is located in a cluster of prime commercial and high-rise residential properties around the iconic Petronas Twin Towers in downtown Kuala Lumpur and estimated to have been built at the cost of US$580 million.
SKETCHY INFORMATION
Financial executives close to the situation noted that the asset-declaration order in late May came together with the freezing of at least a dozen Daim-related business accounts.
The accounts remain frozen and all payments made for the running of his financial enterprises, including the payrolls, require MACC approval, the executives noted.
The MACC has been sketchy with information on the Renong-UEM deal.
Shortly after the probe began in late May, the MACC released a statement that the agency was gathering information into the “alleged embezzlement of state funds amounting to an estimated RM2.3 billion”.
The agency added that it had frozen bank accounts with funds amounting to RM39 million belonging to an unidentified former senior minister and two businessmen, who were also not identified.
Government officials and anti-graft investigators directly involved in the probe told CNA that the alleged embezzlement of state funds was a direct reference to the RM2.3-billion-ringgit Renong-UEM deal.
The three unnamed personalities are believed to refer to Mr Daim, who served as finance minister between 1984 and 1991; Mr Halim Saad, his long-time business protégé who at the time was a controlling shareholder of both Renong and UEM through a complex web of cross-holdings; and Mr Abdul Rashid Manaf, a prominent Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer who handled all of UMNO’s corporate affairs.
The MACC’s move to revisit a transaction that happened over 26 years ago has stirred widespread speculation that the ongoing investigation has a strong political dimension and is steeped in the country’s troubled and messy politics, particularly over how current premier Anwar Ibrahim was unceremoniously sacked and jailed in September 1998 after falling out with then-premier Dr Mahathir.
Mr Anwar, who replaced Mr Daim as finance minister in 1991 and had risen to become deputy premier, was hugely critical of the Renong-UEM deal at the time, which caused a meltdown in the Malaysian stock market.
Many analysts believe that the Renong-UEM deal was a critical flashpoint in the straining of ties between Dr Mahathir and his deputy.
With a business career that stretches back to the late 1960s, Mr Daim, a lawyer by training, is widely regarded in Malaysia’s business and political circles as one of the country’s richest personalities.
A view of ILHAM Tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Aug 5, 2015. (Photo: Facebook/ILHAM Tower)
STEALTHY APPROACH
Mr Daim has always applied a stealthy approach to his business empire.
He does not appear in any listing index of the region’s richest businessmen because a large bulk of his businesses and assets are held in through an array of obscure family companies or nominee associates.
He is not listed as a substantial shareholder or a director in any quoted Malaysian company.
The most visible construct of Mr Daim’s financial heft is the 60-storey Ilham Tower, which was completed in 2015 and houses both offices and a hotel.
According to documents lodged at the Companies Commission of Malaysia, the owner of the building is a private entity called Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd, which is in turn majority owned by a private company called Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd.
It is a company controlled by members of Daim’s family, including his wife Na’imah Abdul Khalid and his two sons, Mohammed Amin Zainuddin Daim and Muhammed Amir Zainuddin Daim.
Source: CNA/lo(kb)
MACC seizes Ilham Tower linked to former finance minister
By Hana Naz Harun - December 21, 2023 @ 10:57pm
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has seized the Ilham Tower, owned by the family of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin. - NSTP file pic
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has seized the Ilham Tower, a building owned by the family of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.
The seizure notice of the 60-storey building was dated Dec 18, and was published as an advertisement on a local news portal today (Dec 21).
It was signed by MACC deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib and made under Section 38(1) of the MACC Act 2009, addressed to the Property Rights Registrar, Lands and Mines Office of the Federal Territories.
"Take notice that according to Section 38(5) of the MACC Act 2009, anyone that goes against this notice or carries out any actions against this notice has committed an offence that can be fined no more than twice the amount of the said value, or RM50,000, whichever is higher, and can be jailed for a period no longer than two years," the notice read.
The Ilham Tower is located in downtown Kuala Lumpur near the Petronas Twin Towers, and houses a four-star hotel, offices, and a gallery, among others.
According to a report by Channel NewsAsia (CNA), financial executives close to Daim mentioned that the former politician received an order from the MACC in late May. The directive required Daim to disclose his financial holdings and other assets belonging to his family members.
However, Daim reportedly rejected these demands.
During questioning by MACC officials, he insisted that he had no involvement in the Renong-UEM deal.
The corporate transaction involved UEM acquiring a 33 per cent interest in Renong.
Daim asserted that it was purely a business deal between companies, governed by their respective managements, boards of directors, and shareholders, financial executives close to him told CNA.
In May, it was reported that the MACC had opened several investigation papers against a "Tan Sri" business figure and a former senior minister in relation to the embezzlement of national funds worth more than RM2.3 billion.
Daim was one of at least 10 wealthy Malaysians named in the Pandora Papers, which shed light on offshore companies and trusts used to stash away fortunes and evade taxes.
The New StraitsTimes has reached out to MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki for comment. - NST
NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! - NEWS OF SKYSCRAPER SEIZURE LINKED TO DAIM ZAINUDDIN PUTS MANAGEMENT ON DEFENSIVE - HAS LAND OFFICE ACTED ON THE MACC ORDER?
Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!
KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - News that the Ilham Tower owned by the family of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin has been seized by the authorities has put the building's management on the defensive.
"Why does this concern you? Whether we are aware or not, does it matter to you?" the NST reported the building manager as saying.
"We are the building management, and I am the building manager here. If you ask about visiting matters, I can provide you with an answer."
"However, for anything else, I am unsure if I am the right person to make a comment."
According to the NST, checks as of 12 noon today (Dec 22) showed no signs of unusual activity at the Ilham Tower. No authorities, tapes or seizure notices were seen within the compound.
PANDORA PAPERS & DAIM'S REFUSAL TO DECLARE ASSETS?
Anwar (left), Daim (right)
In May, the MACC had said it was gathering information involving alleged misappropriation of RM2.3bil by a former minister and businessman.
Sources said the probe was linked to the leak of the "Pandora Papers" by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICJ).
The Pandora Papers refer to millions of leaked documents in 2021, which allegedly revealed offshore accounts of present and past leaders from around the world, including presidents, prime ministers, billionaires and prominent business people.
According to Singapore-based Channel News Asia, financial executives close to Daim said the seizure took place on Dec 18 after the former finance minister refused 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.
Construction of the iconic 60-storey Ilham Tower began in 2010 and was completed in 2015, and is believed to have cost US$580mil (RM2.7bil). It was then the seventh tallest building in the country.
WAS ONCE AS POWERFUL AS THE PM & BAD BLOOD WITH ANWAR
Mahathir adamant sacking Anwar in 1997 was the right decision
The 85-year-old Daim is a man who has walked in the highest corridors of powers and was once said to be as powerful as the prime minister himself. He is credited with having twice rescuing Malaysia's economy - the second time in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which many blame on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's ineffective handling of the economy. Anwar was then Deputy Prime Minister as well as Finance Minister.
It is not surprising that there is alleged bad blood between the two men - who have vastly contrasting styles. It is no secret that the 76-year-old Anwar and his loyalists believe Daim is among the masterminds who helped hatched alleged trumped-up sodomy charges that got him thrown into jail and stripped of all his posts.
As recently as 2018, Daim - a two-time finance minister - was also named as the leader of the Council of Eminent Persons, which was formed to help the then newly-installed Pakatan Harapan government chart its course.
He was also known to be a close friend and confidante of then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Both of them are from Kedah.
Based on details from his 2018 biography Daim Zainuddin: Malaysia’s Revolutionary and Troubleshooter, Tun Daim’s first encounter with politics began in 1966 when he worked as a lawyer for Allen & Gledhill, the firm that had been appointed by the Federal Government to resolve the 1966 Sarawak constitutional crisis.
He was later appointed as a senator in 1980 and was elected to Parliament in 1982 as the Kuala Muda MP from 1982 to 1986 and then as Merbok MP from 1986 to 2004.
He served two terms as finance minister under Mahathir’s administration – from 1984 to 1991 and later from 1999 to 2001 before resigning from the post after a two-month leave of absence.
RESCUED THE MALAYSIAN ECONOMY TWICE, LED THE CEP IN 2018
Council of Eminent Persons
Daim has been credited with twice rescuing the Malaysian economy from near collapse while also being instrumental in restructuring Malaysia’s economy.
The Ilham Tower was also where the Council of Eminent Persons, set up by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018, used to meet.
Daim was the leader of the council, which also included former Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz and billionaire Robert Kuok, among others.
ALL EYES ON LANDS & MINES OFFICE TO ACT
Ilham Tower is a top-tier 274m-tall skyscraper located just meters away from the famous and beautiful Petronas Twin Towers. A seizure notice dated Dec 18 had been published as an advertisement in the local media.
The notice was signed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib, under Section 38(1) of the MACC Act 2009 and addressed to the Property Rights Registrar, Lands and Mines Office of the Federal Territories.
All eyes are on the lands and mines office to act on the MACC directive.
BUSINESS AS USUAL
Meanwhile, it is business as usual at the Ilham Tower, with the public and employees of the various companies located inside the building seen entering and exiting the building as usual.
An employee of one of the companies told The Star that tenants received an email from the building management regarding the seizure.
"However, they said operations would go on. Everything was as usual on Friday," he said.
Another employee said he was initially worried after reading the news of the seizure on Thursday.
"My laptop was in the building and I was worried that I would not be able to go in," he explained.
Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!
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