(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission said it recorded former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s statement as part of an investigation into 700 million ringgit ($150.8 million) spent by previous administrations.

The agency also recorded statements from the family of Daim Zainuddin, a former adviser to Anwar’s rival Mahathir Mohamad, to ascertain some of their assets, the anti-graft agency said in a statement late Wednesday. The probe is related to information from the 2021 leaked financial documents known as the Pandora Papers, the MACC said, without providing further details.

The two cases, while unrelated, highlight the widening dragnet under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who rose to power in November 2022 on an anti-corruption platform. Another former prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, was charged with four counts of abuse of power last March, and was acquitted five months later. He still faces three money laundering charges.

The MACC said Wednesday that it was probing the use of 700 million ringgit on publicity and promotions by past administrations. In November, Anwar highlighted the matter in parliament, singling out the 2020-2022 administrations which saw Muhyiddin, then Ismail Sabri, at the helm.

Daim’s wife, Nai’mah Abdul Khalid, and two sons were called to give their statements to ascertain values of some of the high value assets in Malaysia and abroad held under companies belonging to them, according to the MACC.

Nai’mah said her husband — who served as finance minister twice during Mahathir’s first stint as premier — was being persecuted for his success and wealth. “Today it is my family, tomorrow who knows who will be victimized,” she said in a statement Wednesday. 

It’s up to the anti-corruption agency to decide who will be next, Anwar told reporters on Thursday.

“If someone is innocent they don’t need to worry because the investigations will be thorough and charges will be made if there is solid evidence,” the prime minister said. “But don’t assume this is about certain people, because this will then give the perception that the big sharks will get away.”

Anwar’s commitment to fight graft came under scrutiny last year after the government withdrew 47 criminal charges against his key ally Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He has denied interfering in the case, as well as in MACC’s investigations.

--With assistance from Kok Leong Chan and Joy Lee.

(Adds comments by Malaysia’s prime minister in the seventh and eighth paragraphs.)

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