KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): The prosecution on Wednesday has applied to the High Court for the widow of Tun Daim Zainuddin, Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, or her associates to be prohibited from dealing with her purported assets in the British crown dependency of Jersey, worth US$157.5 million (approximately RM667 million) and £85 million (RM490.7 million).
Deputy public prosecutor Maziah Mohaide said this is an ex parte (single party) application to apply for the prohibitory order under Section 53 of the Anti Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds from Unlawful Activity Act 2001 (AMLA).
Maziah said this application is made following investigations done under Section 113 of the Income Tax Act 1967 (ITA) and Section 4(1) of AMLA.
“This follows assets obtained by Na’imah or her associates in Malaysia that have not been declared to the Inland Revenue Board. These assets are worth approximately US$157.5 million and £85 million in Jersey,” she said.
However, lawyer Syed Afiq Syed Albakri for Na’imah has applied to intervene in these proceedings and be served with the cause papers.
Syed Afiq said the matter should be made inter partes (involving all parties) and not ex parte, as this concerned Na’imah and as he heard his client’s name mentioned.
He said there were other attempts where the prosecution had sought prohibitory orders before two separate High Courts earlier this month.
“The prosecution should have produced reasonable grounds for their application. Furthermore, there is an amendment to Section 53 of AMLA which has yet to be gazetted that requires the attendance of both parties.
“In the interests of natural justice, we should be allowed to intervene and get the cause papers. We also seek for the prosecution to inform us (Na’imah’s lawyer) of any attempt to apply any prohibitory orders,” he said.
DPP Maziah said that under the AMLA and ITA, the prosecution is entitled to make the application ex parte, as the amendment had not been gazetted, and her instructions are to keep the application ex parte.
Following that, she asked the court to give the prohibitory order against the relevant parties dealing with the assets.
High Court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin directed Syed Afiq to file a proper application to intervene before the court, and the court would hear the application on August 22.
This is the third application made by the prosecution, as prior to this, they have applied to obtain a prohibitory order for assets in the United Kingdom and Singapore.
This is for UK assets worth £132 million and another request to freeze about RM544 million worth of assets in Singapore.
The two applications were made this month, while her lawyers applied to intervene only last week following the filing over her assets in Singapore.