LCS: Rafizi claims fake offshore firms owned by minister's family

SHAH ALAM - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Deputy President Rafizi Ramli claims two fake firms involved in the littoral combat ship (LCS) project embezzlement scandal are owned by the wife of one of the current cabinet ministers.

He said the existence of the two offshore companies which used the name Alizes Marine but were registered in two different countries were exposed through LCS internal investigation and further checks.

Checks also revealed Alizes Marine Limited was registered in Malta while another company using the name Alizes Marina Labuan was registered in Labuan, Sabah ‘used’ as part suppliers for the LCS project.

Rafizi claimed the report showed the woman’s ownership of the company took place during the time when her husband was the Deputy Defence Minister.

"Both the offshore companies cannot be tracked. The existence of Alizes Marine Limited was only known when an informant leaked the offshore company database until it became a big worldwide scandal (known as Panama Papers and Paradise Papers).

"Check with the Paradise Papers database confirmed the existence of Alizes Marine Limited company owned by a woman. The woman (allegedly the minister's wife) had held shares in another offshore company established in Malta named Intralogistics Limited. This company held stocks in Alizes Marine Labuan.

"The internal investigation paper of the LCS scandal explained clearly the involvement of the Alizes Marine companies that embezzled LCS funds. A few forms of embezzlement happened," he said in a statement on Monday.

Rafizi at the same time exposed two forms of embezzlement made by the companies.

"Firstly, the companies were appointed as technical consultants (with no expertise) to the project.

“They sent their invoice for works that were not performed. A total of RM23.37 million was embezzled using this method at the beginning of the project around 2011 and 2014.

"Secondly, Alizes Marine was elected as the supplier for spare parts for the LCS project. The appointment was based on false information that it supposedly has a license from the French government but payment was transferred to fake companies established in Malta and Labuan," he claimed.

Rafizi said the review showed that the scheme to divert funds from the LCS project was done over the years and it was carefully planned.

"I can also confirm that there are multiple forms of contracts involving a minister and LCS is not the only project involving companies related to him.

"There are a few other defence projects that involve Alizes Marine and a few other companies owned and controlled by the (minister) himself or his wife. The variety of information will come out immediately," he said.

He alleged the fact that the scheme to embezzle the LCS funds which used fake firms owned by the Deputy Defence Minister at the time was no coincidence.

"For that reason, I have demanded an explanation since the beginning from Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was responsible for changing the design from Sigma to Gowind and Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was the Finance Minister and Prime Minister at the time.

"It is impossible that this embezzlement scheme involved the projects operated by both (Najib and Zahid) could happen without them noticing.

Meanwhile, Rafizi at the time hoped that the exposure of this act could shut the mouths of Umno and BN that tried to make the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) retiree the 'victim' of the scandal when it blew up.

"A scandal this big can't happen without any mastermind from the Umno leadership to make big decisions at the time, considering the navy retirees only conspired to commit the act.

"I hoped that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) leadership from Bersatu and Pas starts to realise that the LCS scandal will drag them because their senior leadership (minister) and family in involved directly in the fake companies that embezzled LCS project funds.

"I’m waiting for the reaction of Umno, Pas and Bersatu leadership that forms the Federal Government this time," he said.

In another statement PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli had said a federal minister’s wife has been named as the owner of two companies that allegedly misappropriated the funds from the LCS project.

He had claimed that the two companies bore names similar to a French company. The companies were registered as offshore companies in Malta and Labuan.

On Aug 8, Rafizi had also claimed he was in possession of leaked documents that gave the impression that a deal for the LCS was “pre-determined” even before the government signed its agreement with Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS).