It is not a crime to have an offshore account as many people do so for business reasons, said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said even top footballer Lionel Messi was named in the documents leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists dubbed the Panama Papers.

This comes after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s son Nazifuddin Najib was named among those who used the services of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca to set up an offshore entity in the ICIJ-leaked documents.

“There is a lot information on that, we don’t know the full extent or what the context of the papers is. Even Messi in there....

“You know, it doesn’t automatically implicate anybody in any crime. People set up offshore (entities) legally for many reasons – because they are doing business, some may be doing business before they were in politics,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

Businesses set up shadowy offshore entities largely as a means to escape taxation at home.

Before the Panama Papers, another leak to the ICIJ revealed various Malaysian politicians and individuals linked to bigwigs have offshore accounts as well.

They include former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s son Mirzan, Lembah Pantai Umno chief Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin and Micheal Chia, the alleged bagman for Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman.

[More to follow]