Retract ‘incorrect’ statements in LCS report, Latiff’s lawyers tell forensic auditors

KUALA LUMPUR – Mersing MP Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad is purportedly taking legal action against the independent forensic auditors who prepared the forensic audit report on the contentious littoral combat ships (LCS) project.  

A letter of demand sighted by The Vibes saw lawyer Chetan Jethwani from Chetan Jethwani & Co, claiming to act on behalf of Latiff, who is also special functions minister. 

The letter, addressed to Alliance IFA (M) Sdn Bhd director Prabhat Kumar, threatened to commence legal proceedings against the recipient if he “fails, refuses or neglects” to respond within 48 hours from today (September 7).

The letter referred to various postings by PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who made allegations against Latiff based on the forensic audit report prepared by the company.

Among others, the forensic report named Zainab Mohd Salleh as the wife of Latiff, and who had stakes in the multi-billion ringgit project.

“You would be aware that your statement is wholly untrue and highly defamatory to our client (Latiff), dragging our client into public scandal and odium,” the letter sighted by The Vibes said. 

“Your statement has also caused many issues within our client’s family and constituency.”

The audit report was prepared for Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Sdn Bhd (BHIC), which is a sister company of the main LCS contractor Boustead Naval Shipyard Bhd (BNS).

Both BHIC and BNS are subsidiaries of Boustead Group Bhd. 

The legal letter demanded several matters from Prabhat, including for him to withdraw his “incorrect” statements on Latiff, and to issue an apology to the minister over the allegedly defamatory revelations made in the forensic report.  

It also demanded Prabhat write into BHIC to correct the alleged inaccuracies contained in the report. 

“BHIC should not have provided the Public Accounts Committee with an incorrect report,” Chetan said, adding that a copy of the correction letter should then be provided to the law firm.  

The Vibes has also reached out to Rafizi for comment on the letter issued by the lawyer.

Previously, Rafizi had made several revelations about Latiff and his alleged spouse Zainab, who is named as a shareholder of Malta-based offshore incorporated company Alizes Marine Ltd, the firm implicated in the siphoning of funds from the LCS project to foreign accounts.

Latiff, a former Umno lawmaker and deputy defence minister from 2008 to 2013 when the LCS project was in its initial phases, had subsequently denied the accusations, saying he is open to being investigated over the issue. 

Latiff has also been the subject of numerous police reports about the controversy, including those made by PKR Youth vice chief Atyrah Hanim Razali, with the support of several other party figures, namely PKR strategy director and Johor Baru MP Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir. – The Vibes, September 7, 2022