Govt seeks to forfeit Ilham Tower’s bank account

The government is seeking to forfeit a bank account belonging to Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd, an entity that belongs to the family of the late Daim Zainuddin.

The application was filed last month at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, under Section 36 of the MACC Act 2009.

However, Ilham Tower’s lawyer, Nizamuddin Hamid, submitted to judge Azura Alwi today that he would be challenging the application, and also verbally applied for a gag order on the details of the bank account, according to Free Malaysia Today.

The court subsequently allowed Nizamuddin’s verbal application and ordered him to file a formal application involving a gag order, as well as his challenge against the forfeiture application, before Jan 28, 2026.

The judge also ordered the government to issue a gazette in calling any third party to contest the forfeiture by Feb 12.

Deputy public prosecutor Mahadi Abdul Jumaat confirmed the matter when contacted by Malaysiakini.

Previously, both the former finance minister and his wife, Na’imah Abdul Khalid, were charged under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act for allegedly failing to disclose their assets. Na’imah was charged on Jan 23 last year, while Daim was charged six days later.

However, Daim was acquitted of his charge following his death in Nov 13, the same year, despite Na’imah urging for the charge against him to be maintained, as she wished to fight the case in court to clear her late husband’s name.

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