POLICE have received four reports in relation to the Pandora Papers and are investigating two of them with Bank Negara, Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Abd Jalil Hassan said.

The other two reports have been classified as “no further action” as they were related to a memorandum urging authorities to initiate an investigation into the leaked documents. 

“We have interviewed the complainants. One report was referred to Bank Negara Malaysia on October 14 while the other one will be referred to the central bank on October 18 for further investigation,” Jalil said in a statement today.

The Pandora Papers – containing 11.9 million documents and 2.9 terabytes of data – were released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on October 3 to expose offshore accounts held by elites from different countries.

Malaysian names that appeared in the Pandora Papers include Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former minister Daim Zainuddin. All have denied any wrongdoing and said it is not illegal to hold an offshore account.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has wanted the Pandora Papers to be debated in Parliament while other MPs have said the matter should be investigated in case tax evasion is involved. 

Earlier today, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government will not interfere if authorities investigate individuals linked to the leaked documents.

He said the authorities are free to investigate 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 at a press conference at the Seri Perak People’s Housing Project in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur. – October 16, 2021.