Mahathir’s sons seek ‘patience’ from Malaysia’s anti-graft body amid ‘impossible endeavour’ of digging through assets

In their first statement since the probe began, Mirzan and Mokhzani said they are compiling all relevant documents but asked the MACC for patience, saying they were given just 30 days to comply before being charged.

“The task at hand in collating 43 years’ worth of information is an impossible endeavour, and we ask for patience and understanding to address MACC’s request,” said Mirzan and Mokhzani in a joint statement.

For Mirzan, the deadline will be on February 16, while for Mokhzani, it is on February 25 according to their lawyer.

The Pandora Papers is a massive leak of financial documents in 2021 which exposed the offshore financial activities of politicians, celebrities, and business leaders around the world. It was preceded by the Panama Papers in 2016.

The statement came in after MACC Chief Azam Baki threatened the two with legal action if they failed to comply, saying his agency has yet to receive anything from either of them.

“Both of them can be charged if they fail to declare their assets in the nearest time. However, they can appeal after the period given [to declare their assets] ends in the middle of this month,” he reportedly said to local newspaper New Straits Times.

Mokhzani, 63, who was listed in 2012 as the 14th richest person in Malaysia by Forbes Asia with an estimated net worth of US$685 million, meanwhile, is being investigated under the anti-money-laundering act.

The brothers, however, claimed that they were not informed about the details of the probe against them.