The wife of a former Malaysian finance minister with close ties to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s political opponents was charged on Tuesday with failing to disclose assets to anti-corruption investigators.
Naima Abdul Khalid, 66, the wife of businessman Daim Zainuddin, who twice served as finance minister from 1984 to 2001, pleaded not guilty in a court in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
The offense of failing to disclose assets at the request of anti-corruption authorities was committed in November last year, according to court documents seen by AFP.
Daim, 85, is a close ally of Mahathir Mohamad, the two-time prime minister who has been a fierce critic of Ibrahim, who took power in 2022, and vowed to stamp out high-level corruption.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
Naima said in a statement outside court: “I have not committed any crime and I will prove this in court.”
“The real crime is a conspiracy to defame the husband. The real crime is the use of state power for personal purposes rather than for the benefit of the people.”
She sent a message to Ibrahim that “power is short-lived and those who abuse power will always be punished.”
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
The court has set the next hearing in the case for March 22, and a trial date may be set. If found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.
The country’s corruption authorities announced they were investigating Mr. Dime. He called the investigation into her own affairs a “political witch hunt.” Mahathir also claimed the investigation was politically motivated.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) summoned Mahathir’s son last week to question him regarding his business activities.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
MACC said in a statement last week that the order to interrogate Mirzan Mahathir was part of an investigation following revelations contained in the so-called Panama Papers and “his business activities involving the purchase and sale of government-linked companies.”
In August 2022, MACC announced that it had launched an investigation into “entities linked to and named in” the Pandora Papers and the Panama Papers, which shed light on tax evasion by the rich and powerful around the world.
Mr. Anwar has been accused of using the MACC investigation to go after his political opponents.
jsm/jfx/aha