KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli today said that former deputy defence minister Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad’s denial that Zainab Mohd Salleh was his wife, in reference to a viral report, stemmed from a internet user confusing the Zainab of the littoral combat ship (LCS) project with the chief financial officer (CFO) of Dialog Berhad.
In a Facebook post, Rafizi said that tomorrow he will reveal specific documents allegedly linking the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) with an individual named Zainab Mohd Salleh who is the owner of Alizes Marine.
“God willing, it will be clearer why the internal investigation report named Abdul Latiff as the ‘spouse’ (or husband) of Zainab Mohd Salleh,” he said in the post.
He added: “I have been proven right many times before. My record of exposure on major national scandals, starting with National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), Tabung Haji, Mara, Armed Forces Pension Fund (LTAT), Felda, SRC International Sdn Bhd (SRC) and 1MDB all ended with prosecutions in court for those involved.”
Earlier today, Rafizi released a statement claiming that money for the LCS project had been funnelled into the accounts of offshore companies allegedly owned by the wife of a former deputy defence minister.
He also claimed to have received this information from internal investigations into the LCS scandal and from cross-checking with the database of offshore companies in the Paradise Papers, a 2017 tranche of leaked confidential records related to offshore investments.
A few hours later, Abdul Latiff released a statement saying: “Referring to a news report that went viral relating to the investigation on the littoral combat ship project, I insist that Zainab Mohd Salleh is not my wife as stated in the report.”
Last Thursday, Rafizi claimed that RM192 million had been funnelled from the LCS project to non-existent, untraceable offshore accounts.
He also claimed to have sighted a report from an internal investigation by Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd, which revealed how LCS subcontractors had paid €43.69 million, equivalent to RM210 million, based on invoices from a French firm, but payments went to a Malta-incorporated phoney firm instead.
“The modus operandi used is similar to the method used to steal 1MDB money. Fake companies are set up all over the world whose name is identical to a real company,” he said.
The LCS project is the largest procurement in the history of the Ministry of Defence with a total cost of RM9 billion. The said contract began in 2013 with a 10-year time frame and six LCS ships were expected to be built and delivered to the country by the end of 2023.
