The judge also noted that the current judicial review before the court established a prima facie (established a case) argument that MACC had acted in bad faith as it used the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) to prolong the asset freeze after the expiry of orders under the MACC Act.
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 5): The High Court on Wednesday (Nov 5) granted permission for the late Tun Daim Zainuddin's family to proceed with their legal bid challenging the freezing of their various accounts in relation to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)'s investigation into their finances.
High Court judge Datuk Aliza Sulaiman said that the applicants in this case had passed the higher threshold in the legal challenge to ongoing criminal probes by investigating authorities.
"Leave to commence judicial review is allowed," she said, adding that the issues raised needed to be fully ventilated before the court.
The judge also noted that the current judicial review before the court established a prima facie (established a case) argument that MACC had acted in bad faith as it used the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) to prolong the asset freeze after the expiry of orders under the MACC Act.
This ruling, she said, differed from the family's first judicial review, which was dismissed in May 2024. That case challenged the first freeze order and High Court judge — now Chief Justice — Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh stated at the time that the mere suspicion of mala fide was not sufficient grounds to mount a legal action.
Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar led the team of lawyers appearing for the applicants, while senior federal counsel Nurhafizza Azizan appeared for the Attorney-General.
Background of the case
This court case is part of a series of judicial reviews filed against the MACC and the government concerning the former finance minister's assets. They involve challenging the seizure of assets and property freezing orders, which the family alleges have lapsed.
The MACC’s probe into Daim’s finances was initiated based on information revealed in the Pandora Papers concerning offshore wealth, which subsequently led to a charge against Daim for failing to declare a wide range of assets to the commission. He was acquitted of the charge, which he had claimed was political persecution by the current government, a week after his death, on Nov 20, 2024.
It is understood that the assets were first seized under the MACC Act for about 12 months and the orders were then extended under AMLA, which the family claims should have automatically lapsed after 90 days.
In this particular legal action, Daim's widow Toh Puan Na'imah Abdul Khalid Na'imah claims that since no charges pertaining to money laundering have been filed to date, the numerous seizure orders issued in 2023 and 2024 by the authority have lapsed and are no longer in effect.
She also asserts that there is no reason for the authorities to continue with the freeze order.
Besides Daim and Na'imah, the other plaintiffs in this action include their four children, Asnida, Md Wira Dani, Muhammed Amir Zainuddin and Muhammed Amin Zainuddin, along with 18 companies.
The companies are AAD Equity Sdn Bhd, Yayasan Haji Zainuddin, Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd, Anchor Point Sdn Bhd, Kangkung Catering Sdn Bhd, Adrihaniz Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Malur Sdn Bhd, Amiraz Sdn Bhd, Ridana Sdn Bhd, Daan Sdn Bhd, Maya Seni Holdings Sdn Bhd, Magical Zone Sdn Bhd, Permatang Maju (M) Sdn Bhd, Brainstorms Sdn Bhd, Arida Farms Sdn Bhd, Gajah3 Resource Centre Sdn Bhd, Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Selidik Jaya Sdn Bhd.
Besides MACC and the government, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki have also been named as respondents, along with two other MACC officers.
Separately, on Tuesday, another High Court judge, Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh, granted permission to Daim's family to challenge the seizure of Ilham Tower, another asset linked to the family.