KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has confirmed that it is investigating former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin for allegations of corruption and money laundering following the seizure of a building recently.
Its chief commissioner, Tan Sri Azam Baki, was quoted by a Malay daily to have confirmed the matter but declined to elaborate on the details of the investigation.
He reportedly said that the action to seize Menara Ilham, issued through a notice in the newspapers last Friday, did not affect the operations and affairs of the building.
"When we investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power involving immovable property, we are allowed under the MACC Act to send seizure applications to the Deputy Public Prosecutor.
"That's what happened. We used the power provided to the Deputy Public Prosecutor to instruct the land office to place a caveat on the relevant land," he said when contacted.
Azam reportedly stated that the same process had been carried out by the MACC for a long time during the investigation process, emphasizing that the seizure of Menara Ilham was not the only case.
Earlier today, the New Straits Times (NST) reported that tenants at Ilham Tower are unaffected by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's seizure of the building as they are still allowed to operate as usual.
An employee at Ilham Gallery told NST that its daily operations continued unhindered and that there were no directives to vacate the gallery.
MACC has seized Ilham Tower through a seizure notice dated Dec 18.
It was advertised in a local news portal on Thursday and in the NST yesterday.
The notice was signed by MACC deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib and made under Section 38(1) of the MACC Act 2009, addressed to the Property Rights Registrar, Lands and Mines Office of the Federal Territories.