In a statement, the MACC said it had completed several investigation papers on individuals involved in the controversial project and has referred the papers to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

“The MACC will await further instructions after the AGC has studied the investigation papers,” it said.

This comes just a day after Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he had directed Attorney-General Idrus Harun and MACC chief Azam Baki to act swiftly over the project.

Ismail pledged that investigations would be conducted transparently and that Putrajaya would not protect any individual involved in the troubled project.

Last week, Azam had said the anti-graft agency had been probing the issue for the past few years.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had said not a single LCS ship had been completed although Putrajaya had already paid RM6 billion on the RM9 billion project, which was given to Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) via direct negotiations.

PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh also said the navy should have received five of the ships by August this year.

He also said the defence ministry and BNS had ignored the navy’s views on the project while Putrajaya failed to carry out due diligence on the company’s financial problems.

The PAC’s report on the project said BNS’ financial position was in a weak and critical state, due to abuse of power and deficiencies in its financial management.

It also found that the government’s payments to BNS were not entirely used for the LCS project, resulting in a cost overrun of RM1.4 billion.

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