Court grants stay on MACC's UK asset freeze of Daim's widow
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today allowed an application by Toh Puan Na'imah Abdul Khalid, the widow of the late Tun Daim Zainuddin, for a stay of its ex parte order to freeze assets belonging to her and her family worth GBP132 million in London by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The assets comprise two commercial buildings located at St Mary Axe and One Crown Court; three luxury residences at Bryanston Square, Bryanston Mews and Lancaster Gate; two residential units in Gloucester Place; and a bank account at CAF Bank Limited (UK), allegedly held under The Ilham Foundation.
Judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid granted the stay after allowing Na'imah's application, who was represented by counsel Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar.
The court fixed July 9 to hear Na'imah's application to intervene in the main proceedings relating to the freezing of the assets.
On June 3, the same court had allowed the MACC's ex-parte application to freeze the said assets under Section 53 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA 2001).
In a separate High Court today, Judge K. Muniandy fixed Aug 1 to hear Na'imah's application to intervene in MACC's separate ex-parte application to freeze 12 investment accounts in Singapore, allegedly owned by Na'imah, her family and associates, with a total value over RM544 million.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Nur Iman Wan Mohd Afzal requested the court to allow MACC's ex-parte application to freeze the said assets, following findings that the assets had not been declared.
'The total value of these movable assets exceeds RM544 million, consisting of investments in USD and pound sterling. Therefore, we request that this application be heard, and these assets be frozen to prevent the risk of disposal,' she said.
On May 22, MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said eight investigation papers were opened based on new information received from external agencies regarding the assets owned by Daim, his family and proxies.
Azam said the latest information indicated that the assets owned by Daim, his family and associates were not declared to MACC during the 2023 investigation.
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