Abuse of Power and Money Laundering: Malaysia Investigates Former Finance Minister!

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission stated today, Saturday, that it is "investigating Daim Zainuddin, the former finance minister and a key ally of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, on charges of abuse of power and money laundering." The commission indicated that it acted independently according to the law and opened an investigation against Daim in February, based on information from the Pandora Papers, a leak of financial records in 2021 that revealed foreign assets owned by politicians and public figures around the world. The commission confirmed in a statement what media reports indicated earlier this month, that it confiscated the Ilham Tower, a 60-story building in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, as part of the investigation into Daim. Daim, 85 years old, denied any wrongdoing in a statement on Thursday, saying, "The authorities have not informed me of the crimes I allegedly committed despite repeated requests from the Anti-Corruption Commission in this regard." He also described the investigation against him as a "political witch hunt" led by the Anti-Corruption Commission and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.