[UPDATED] Rafizi reveals more on Latiff Ahmad’s links to LCS project

KUALA LUMPUR – PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli has provided further evidence implicating Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad in the contentious littoral combat ships (LCS) saga, as well as other national defence projects. 

Doubling down on the apparent marriage between Latiff and Zainab Mohd Salleh, the former Pandan MP included in his statement today personal details on the woman allegedly behind the siphoning of millions of ringgit from the LCS project. 

This follows Rafizi’s expose yesterday naming Latiff as being among the key figures in the ongoing controversy surrounding the over RM9 billion vessel procurement project. 

Rafizi revealed today that Latiff had formed Mega P Asia Sdn Bhd on October 23, 2015, a company which was later appointed as a subcontractor for several national marine defence projects. 

While the recently declassified forensic audit report by Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd on the LCS issue mentions the company, blocks of text supposedly referring to the firm were redacted. 

In his statement, Rafizi claimed that Mega P was established with French-national Thierry Georges Andre Barrier, who was also named in the report as an individual involved in the LCS project.

Allegedly referring to redacted sections in the audit report, Rafizi said that Barrier was among individuals involved in syphoning funds from the LCS project to accounts overseas using Alizes Marine Ltd. 

Rafizi had previously disclosed that Alizes Marine Ltd is a Malta-based offshore incorporated company that allegedly performed fraudulent transactions amounting to RM23.37 million.

Besides noting that Mega P is involved in supplying Chilean workers for millions of ringgit for (submarine) projects, the audit report also said that Barrier “(could) not deny (his) role in” the LCS scandal. 

This claim is based on his relationship with Latiff in Mega P Asia, with checks by The Vibes on the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) uncovering that both men had been founding directors of the company. 

Documents by the commission also stated that Barrier had ceased to be a company director on July 21, 2017 while Latiff vacated his post on March 10, 2020. 

Rafizi also asserted that Latiff and Barrier had each held a single share in the company during its inception, noting that after Barrier’s resignation, the Mersing MP owned RM105,002 in shares while Zainab held a majority of RM245,000 in shares. 

“If Zainab is not Latiff’s second wife as stated in the audit report, why would he give her the majority of shares and allow her to control Mega P Asia, a company he had founded?” Rafizi questioned. 

For the record, the SSM documents list Zainab as being the sole shareholder currently. 

Commenting on Latiff’s earlier denial over his relationship with Zainab, Rafizi pressed the minister to answer to the documents proving otherwise. 

Besides the documents, Rafizi attached personal information on one Zainab Mohd Salleh to differentiate her from a woman by the same name who is Dialog Group Bhd’s chief financial officer. 

He also included a screenshot of the LCS Zainab’s Facebook account as well as a comment she had posted on a video of Latiff’s ministerial swearing-in ceremony. 

“All this evidence is enough to confirm that Zainab is Latiff’s (second) wife,” he stressed. 

Latiff, a former Umno lawmaker, was deputy defence minister from 2008 to 2013, during the earlier days of the LCS project.

Rafizi’s expose today follows a string of revelations on the LCS scandal, which has seen the government forking out RM6.08 billion to main contractor Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd for the vessels, but has yet to receive a single ship, allegedly due to financial instability and project mismanagement. – The Vibes, August 23, 2022