Zainab is not my wife, claims MP at the centre of LCS allegations

Former deputy defence minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad has denied that he is the husband of a woman named by investigators for her involvement in dubious companies which received millions of dollars linked to the littoral combat ship (LCS) project.

"I would like to stress that Zainab Mohd Salleh is not my wife, as stated in the report," Latiff, the Mersing  MP who is now a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said in a brief statement.

He added that he would extend his full cooperation in the event of an investigation by the authorities. 

Earlier, MalaysiaNow quoted a source familiar with a forensic audit report into the controversial multi-billion contract which identified Zainab as Latiff's spouse.

It is understood that the woman was named in the report as one of the owners of Sousmarin Armada Ltd, a company with a business address in Paris although payment to it was released in Singapore.

The company is one of a number of companies involved in the RM9 billion contract for government-owned Boustead Naval Shipyard to build six combat ships that were never delivered.

MalaysiaNow also reported that Zainab's name was linked to another company which received transactions of millions of dollars for the LCS project through suspicious accounts overseas.

The source had said that the company, Alizes Marine Ltd, was registered in offshore tax havens Malta and Labuan under the same name, and operated without any physical office before they were de-registered between 2014 and 2019. 

Latiff and Zainab were also shareholders in Mega P Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of defence conglomerate Ameris France.

The latest company search shows that Zainab now holds all 350,002 shares in the company.