Court rules UK asset freeze linked to late Daim lapses

There are no longer any prohibitory orders or restrictions in force over United Kingdom assets allegedly linked to the late Daim Zainuddin, which were controversially frozen last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court has confirmed.

On June 30, judge Azhar Abdul Hamid said the asset freeze had expired by operation of law.

“The court ruled that because the order no longer legally exists, our clients’ application to set it aside had become academic. Accordingly, that application, the prosecution’s application to amend its earlier application for a prohibitory order, and our clients’ application for leave to sell the assets were dismissed,” Zharif Nizamuddin, the law firm representing Daim’s family, said in a statement.

It said that Daim’s family would continue to pursue legal remedies in the remaining proceedings, adding that they would “vigorously assert their legal rights” to ensure due process is upheld and constitutional protections are respected.

On June 3 last year, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), under its then chief Azam Baki, obtained a court order to freeze assets in London worth £132 million (about RM758 million) allegedly linked to Daim’s widow Na’imah Khalid and her family.

The order, under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, Anti-Restricted Activity Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (Amla), came in the wake of claims by Azam that MACC had received “new information” about “high-value” assets related to Daim.

The move was condemned by Na’imah, who questioned the secrecy behind the application as she was not notified.

“MACC obtained this ex parte order secretly, in silence behind closed doors, and I was never given the chance to speak,” Na’imah said then, calling the move “vindictive and politically motivated”.

“I should have been allowed to have my say in court. No reasonable person will say this was in accordance with fairness or the rules of natural justice. They obtained the order by ambush.”

Na’imah later successfully applied to intervene in the proceedings to challenge the freeze.

MACC went ahead with the application despite the fact that the prosecution had dropped the charges against Daim shortly after his death in November 2024.

Daim had become the target of attacks by Anwar Ibrahim, who accused him of amassing wealth illegally, a frequent claim by the prime minister against his political enemies.

An investigation into him by MACC quickly became embroiled in controversy following a damning report by Bloomberg that the probe was launched by Azam under pressure from Anwar.