PUTRAJAYA will not interfere if authorities investigate individuals linked to the Pandora Papers, said Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The prime minister said the authorities are free to investigate into the involved individuals should they find any criminal element.

“If there is a case against anyone in our country, the authorities can take action. They are aware of the news that is being published, so we leave it to them,” he said during a press conference at the Seri Perak People’s Housing Project in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, today.

“If there is proof of crime, they will do what is necessary.”

The Pandora Papers – a data collection containing 11.9 million documents and 2.9 terabytes of data – were released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to expose alleged corrupt activities of elites worldwide on October 3.

It is the biggest trove of stolen offshore data in history, with papers from offshore service providers in Anguilla, Barbados, Belize, Cyprus, Dubai, Panama, Singapore, Switzerland, Seychelles, the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands and Vietnam.

Malaysian figures mentioned in the papers include Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and PKR’s Selayang MP William Leong.

Senate president Rais Yatim, who is also Parliament’s Special Committee on Corruption chairman, said a decision has yet to be made on whether the exposé should be scrutinised by Dewan Negara’s Select Committee on Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption. – October 16, 2021.