Govt Will Not Interfere In Any Probe Into Pandora Papers Says Pm

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Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today gave his commitment that Putrajaya will not interfere in any investigation against individuals whose names were implicated in the Pandora Papers document leak.
He reportedly told a press conference earlier today that the government will leave the matter to the authorities and that they are free to take action should they find evidence of any wrongdoing.
“In this country, we are open. If there is a case against anyone, authorities can take action. We are open and we leave it to the authorities.
“The authorities have been reading all... the MACC reads all the news that has been published.
“So, it is up to the authorities, we do not stop them from taking action against anyone. But there must be evidence, and if there is no evidence, they cannot (take action),” he said, as reported by Malay language news portal Berita Harian.
The Pandora Papers refers to more than 11 million documents from 14 service providers who assist individuals and companies to set up entities in tax havens.
The data dump was made to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, who shared access to some 600 journalists globally, including at Malaysiakini.
Among prominent Malaysians named in the Pandora Papers were former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, current Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and PKR’s Selayang MP William Leong.
All individuals said their dealings with offshore entities, including owning or sitting on the boards of these companies, were legitimate and that due taxes had been paid for any assets and earnings related to the offshore companies.
Following the data leak, the government has been called to investigate the individuals who were revealed to have set up entities in tax havens.
Putrajaya was also urged to set up a special task force to investigate the amount of tax revenue lost due to Malaysian offshore holdings. - Mkini

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