Daim Zainuddin has been charged with failure to declare assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Jan. 29, 2024.

The 85-year-old served as Malaysia's finance minister twice between 1984 and 2001 in the administration of then-prime minister (PM) Mahathir Mohamad.

Pleaded not guilty

Daim arrived in court at 8:40am in a wheelchair, reported The Star.

He was accompanied by his wife, Naimah Khalid, other family members and his lawyers.

Naimah was charged on Jan. 23 with failing to disclose her assets to graft investigators.

On Jan. 29, Daim was charged with not declaring 71 assets while giving a written statement under oath at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya on Dec. 13, 2023, The Star reported.

The assets include one bank account, seven luxury cars, 38 companies, and 25 lands and properties spread across Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan, Pahang and Perak.

Daim pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed trial.

Set to return to court on Mar. 22, 2024

The prosecutor requested for Daim to surrender his passport as one of his bail conditions.

Daim's lawyer argued against this, as well as the other bail conditions, claiming that Daim was not mobile and "not going anywhere".

The judge set Daim's bail at RM280,000 (S$79,300). She did not impose any additional bail conditions after considering Daim's condition.

However, she requested for all parties involved to avoid sub judice by refraining from commenting on the case.

Daim and Naimah are set to return to court on Mar. 22.

MACC seized building belonging to Daim's family

Previously, the MACC seized the Menara Ilham tower in December 2023.

Daim's family owns the 60-storey-tall Menara Ilham located in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.

The 60-storey-tall building is also known as Ilham Tower, Ilham Baru Tower and IB Tower, and is one of Malaysia's tallest buildings.

Daim lashed out at the MACC after the building was seized, claiming that this was part of a political witch-hunt driven by current PM Anwar Ibrahim.

Daim, who is a "close friend and confidante" of former PM Mahathir, is known to be a fierce critic of the incumbent PM, Anwar Ibrahim.

The MACC, however, explained the investigation against Daim, saying that it will be investigating "all entities" named in the Pandora Papers.

Pandora papers

The Pandora Papers, which were leaked in 2021, revealed the offshore financial activities of world leaders, politicians, and public officials around the world.

Daim was one of nine Malaysians named in the leaked documents.

An investigation into Daim was opened in February 2023.

Related stories

Top image screenshot via