Latest news with #assetfreeze
Free Malaysia Today
6 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Naimah to challenge MACC's freezing order on overseas assets
MACC obtained a court order to freeze £132 million or RM758.2 million worth of assets in London belonging to Naimah Khalid and her family. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Naimah Khalid, the widow of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, will challenge the court order obtained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to freeze RM758 million worth of assets abroad linked to her and her family. Naimah claimed that the assets were lawfully acquired and that her lawyers would immediately move to set aside the freezing order, which was granted ex parte. 'I will challenge this order to defend what should never be taken from any of us: our rights, our voice, and a country governed by law, not by fear. 'Let there be no doubt that I will fight this politically motivated, reckless, vindictive and lawless action, through all legal means at my disposal,' she said in a statement today. She argued that no reasonable person would say the order was in accordance with fairness or the rules of natural justice, accusing MACC of obtaining it by ambush. The Kuala Lumpur High Court reportedly granted MACC's application to freeze £132 million (RM758.2 million) worth of assets in London belonging to Naimah and her family. The assets include two commercial buildings, five luxury residences, and one bank account, Utusan Malaysia reported. Naimah alleged that the move was part of a 'long and continuous smear campaign' against her family by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki since late 2022. 'No crime of any kind has ever been proven against Daim. No charges were brought in his lifetime, and none after his death,' she said, adding that the Anti-Money Laundering Act cited by MACC required a serious offence to be proven first. She warned that failure to push back against such actions would embolden those in power to act with impunity. 'A line has been crossed. And if we do not resist, there may soon be no lines left at all. Then no Malaysian will be safe from the reach of unchecked power,' she said. Daim was charged in January last year with failing to declare assets to MACC, including interests in 38 companies, 19 land plots in five states, six properties, two unit trust accounts and seven luxury vehicles. MACC said he had asked for five deadline extensions but still failed to comply. After Daim's death on Nov 13 last year, the prosecution withdrew the charges, and the court granted an order discharging and acquitting him. Naimah also faces an asset declaration charge. She is accused of failing to declare her ownership in various companies, several plots of land here and in Penang, and two vehicles.
South China Morning Post
7 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Malaysia seeks to freeze US$178 million in London assets tied to Daim Zainuddin's widow
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. 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. Former Malaysian finance minister Daim Zainuddin arrives at court in Kuala Lumpur on January 29, 2024, to face charges of failing to declare assets under the MACC Act. Photo: EPA-EFE 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.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
NCA freezes £90m of London property linked to former Bangladesh regime
The UK's serious and organised crime agency has frozen almost £90m of luxury London property belonging to two men linked to the deposed ruler of Bangladesh. In a development that comes after mounting pressure on the UK to assist Bangladesh in tracing assets linked to the former regime, the National Crime Agency (NCA) obtained nine freezing orders, official records show. The orders prevent Ahmed Shayan Rahman and his cousin, Ahmed Shahryar Rahman, from selling property, including apartments in London's Grosvenor Square. The pair were named in a Guardian investigation into UK assets owned by allies of the Bangladesh's former autocratic ruler, Sheikh Hasina. All properties are owned via companies in the British Virgin Islands, Isle of Man or Jersey, according to Companies House records, and were acquired for prices ranging from £1.2m to £35.5m. The Rahmans are the son and nephew, respectively, of Salman F Rahman, a wealthy businessman who was arrested while allegedly attempting to flee during the student-led revolution that toppled Sheikh Hasina last year. Salman F Rahman, who is facing corruption charges in Bangladesh, was Hasina's adviser on private industry and investment and was seen by many in the country as the most influential figure in the regime. His son and nephew's properties featured in a joint investigation between the Guardian and the campaign group Transparency International last year, which revealed £400m worth of property owned by allies of Sheikh Hasina. The properties frozen by the NCA include one in Gresham Gardens, north London. Sheikh Rehana, who is Sheikh Hasina's sister and also the mother of the former UK City minister Tulip Siddiq, has lived at the property, according to the Financial Times, which first reported freezing orders on two of the properties, bought for £7.7m. Duncan Hames, the director of policy at Transparency International UK, said: 'We urge UK law enforcement to continue their inquiries and to freeze all suspect assets without delay.' An NCA spokesperson said: 'We can confirm that the NCA has secured freezing orders against a number of properties as part of an ongoing civil investigation.' Investigations by the interim government of Bangladesh into the former regime have also resulted in authorities there issuing an arrest warrant for Tulip Siddiq, who stepped back as City minister in the light of the allegations. She has denied any wrongdoing. The Guardian has approached lawyers for the Rahmans and Beximco, the family corporate empire founded by Salman Rahman, for comment. A spokesperson for Ahmed Shayan Rahman earlier told the FT: 'Our client denies any involvement in any alleged wrongdoing in the strongest possible terms. He will of course engage with any investigation which takes place in the UK.' They added: 'It is well known that there is political upheaval in Bangladesh, where numerous allegations are being made against many hundreds of individuals. We would expect the UK authorities to take this into consideration.'
Irish Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Claddagh Jewellers brother fails to respond to asset freezing order
A co-owner of the company at the centre of the long running Claddagh Rings business dispute has not yet responded to a High Court order freezing his assets, a judge was told on Friday. Mr Justice Brian Cregan said he would give Andrew Fried until next Friday to respond to the freezing order proceedings brought against him by his brother Philip Fried and if he did not do so further orders may be made against him in his absence. Last week, the judge granted an interim injunction preventing Andrew, his wife Felicity Fried, their children Isabella and Ruben, and a Spanish company, Villas Adelfa SL, from reducing their assets below €969,000. It followed a one-side only application by Philip, a co-shareholder with Andrew in Claddagh Jewellers Ltd, when the court was told a long-running dispute between the brothers had 'opened up on a new front' in a row over ownership of a Spanish villa worth €969,000. READ MORE The brothers had settled a High Court dispute over the business in December 2020. As part of that settlement, Philip said, the parties agreed to transfer to their mother Janis ownership of Villa la Joya in Benalmadena, Malaga, where their parents lived since 1975. The Spanish firm, Villas Adelfa, owned the property with the two brothers each holding half the shares in the company. However, it subsequently emerged that Andrew, unbeknown to Philip or other parties to the settlement, had unlawfully transferred the previous June his shares in the company to his two minor children, Isabella and Ruben. This purportedly prevented the transfer of the property to their mother, Philip said in an affidavit. Separately, eviction proceedings, at the behest of Andrew, were issued in Spain requiring their parents to leave the villa, it was claimed. A Spanish judge dismissed the application last September and made explicit reference to the December 2020 settlement agreement. An appeal has however been lodged against that decision in Spain. The asset freezing application was brought last week by Philip, along with his parents Janis and Laszlo Fried, Claddagh Jewellers Ltd, Claddagh Ring Ltd, and Irony Galway Properties Unlimited Co. It was adjourned for a week. On Friday, Jarlath Ryan SC, for Philip, said Andrew's wife Felicity had agreed not to divest any shares in the company pending further order and not to take any steps to evict the parents from the villa. However, there had been no communication from what Mr Ryan said was the 'main protagonist Andrew Fried'. Counsel said his side would give him until Tuesday to respond after which they will seek a 'full suite of orders' against him. Mr Justice Cregan adjourned it for another week and in the absence of any replying affidavit from Andrew, he would hear any application from Mr Ryan for further orders against him.
