Malaysia has launched efforts to freeze assets in London – including bank accounts and prime real estate valued at £132 million (US$178 million) – linked to the widow of the late tycoon Daim Zainuddin, according to anti-graft authorities.
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The process – which will ultimately need to be executed by authorities in the United Kingdom – is part of a widening embezzlement probe into his family’s wealth.
Daim, who died last November aged 86, was a key ally of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and played a central role in driving Malaysia’s economic boom in the 1980s – a period critics say was marked by widespread crony capitalism that benefited Mahathir’s inner circle.
He was charged alongside his wife, Naimah Khalid, in January 2024 for failure to declare assets – allegations the couple dismissed as a politically motivated attack driven by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, a long-time rival of Mahathir.
The charges against Daim were dropped following his death, but the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is continuing to probe the assets of his wife and sons.
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