KUALA LUMPUR – As recent court documents offer a glimpse into perhaps a fraction of the wealth held by Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, one wonders just how rich is Tun Daim Zainuddin’s wife?
Her assets are now under scrutiny after she was charged under provisions of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 for failing to declare several assets, which span business ventures, property lots and luxury vehicles.
With the 67-year-old having claimed trial to the charge against her, Scoop takes a look at the companies and possessions Na’imah is accused of hiding from the anti-graft agency.
Ilham Tower, Ilham Baru – and a Panama-based entity?
According to the charge sheet put forth by the prosecution, Na’imah is accused of failing to declare two corporate entities – Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd.
According to Companies Commission (SSM) documents sighted by Scoop, the RM789.84-million Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd has three shareholders – Ilham Baru, Silver Street Asset Management Sdn Bhd and Panama-registered Welberton Private Equity Corp.
Incorporated in 1988, Ilham Baru holds a majority share of the 16-year-old Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd through its RM741.39-million stake in the entity – which deals in, among others, property investment, hospitality as well as maintenance and cleaning services.
Na’imah and her son Muhammed Amir Zainuddin Daim, 29, are directors of Ilham Baru, with her owning a 50% share of the RM700.62-million company while Amir and his younger brother, Muhammed Amin Zainuddin Daim, each have 25%.
Besides two fully satisfied charges from 2002 amounting to a total of RM30 million, other financial information for Ilham Baru was not available, with the SSM documents noting that the company had lodged a “certificate to exempt a private company”.
The Companies Act 2016 interprets an “exempt private company” as a private company whose beneficial interests are not held directly or indirectly by any corporation, and has not more than 20 members – none of whom is a corporation.
Section 260 of the legislation stipulates that an exempt private company may lodge with the registrar a certificate relating to its status, in lieu of requirements calling for it to submit its financial statements and reports each financial year.
Meanwhile, Welberton, the second-biggest shareholder in Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd through its RM29.45 million in preference shares secured in July 2020, is stated as having an address in Urbanizacion Obarrio, Panama.
Silver Street, the third and final shareholder in Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd, currently has a RM19-million claim to the company and shares the same Jalan Sri Hartamas 8 address as Ilham Baru.
Notably, Amir and Na’imah also hold directorship roles in Silver Street, which was incorporated in 1995 as Silvermain Sdn Bhd before changing its name in 2022.
Silver Street’s RM1.07-million shares are divided equally between Amir and his 26-year-old brother Amin, with each holding a 50% stake.
In terms of its directors, Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd has on its board Na’imah, Amir and one Hashimah Ismail, who also happens to be a director in yet another company registered in a different unit of the same shoplot as Silver Street and Ilham Baru – Plenitude International Sdn Bhd.
According to its corporate information detailed in SSM documents, Plenitude International, which also has a business address in George Town, Penang, was formed in 2005 and was previously called Geronimo Assets Sdn Bhd before it was renamed in 2009.
The RM196.43-million company recorded a loss of RM8.56 million for the June 2023 financial year end and is a subsidiary of real estate developer, manager and investor Plenitude Bhd, a public-listed company.
Checks on Plenitude’s 2023 annual report as published by Bursa Malaysia in June last year show that the company’s majority shareholder with a 32.19% stake is Ikatanbina Sdn Bhd, a company allegedly held by individuals with family ties to Na’imah.
In 2021, The Edge reported that Ikatanbina was 44.44%-owned by Welberton while its two other shareholders were Na’imah’s sisters – Khadijah Abdul Khalid (33.33%) and Siti Kulthum Abdul Khalid (22.22%).
For the record, two other entities with supposed links to Daim appear as Plenitude shareholders: Yayasan Pok Rafeah and Yayasan Haji Zainuddin, with each owning a 1.05% stake in the company.
Wheels of fortune
The charge sheet against Na’imah also states that she had allegedly failed to abide by an MACC notice to declare a number of her other assets, including two Mercedes-Benz vehicles – an SL500 model and an EQC400.
Eight properties were also listed by the anti-graft agency, one of which is the commercial building, Ilham Tower, in Jalan Binjai here.
Last December, the building was seized by the MACC after the agency initiated investigations into Daim’s financial holdings in May of the same year over allegations of the misappropriation of public funds worth RM2.3 billion in 1997 under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first administration.
Daim was also reportedly under investigation over information about his wealth as leaked in the 2021 Pandora Papers, which detailed prominent names involved in transactions in offshore financial centres.
Besides the tower, Na’imah’s charge sheet also detailed a Jalan Girdle home in upscale Bukit Tunku, which appears to be the same address as Amir’s current residence, as disclosed in SSM documents.
Na’imah’s residence in Jalan Athinahapan in the upper-class Taman Tun Dr Ismail neighbourhood was also listed by the MACC before sessions court judge Azura Alwi.
Another “freehold land and building” is in Jalan Cantonment, Penang while four others are in Bukit Tunku. – January 25, 2024