Businessman Claims "Ghost Ship" Project Cost Him RM1.3 Mln

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- The managing director of a local marine maintenance company has claimed to have suffered losses of more than RM1.3 million after being deceived by a syndicate offering a non-existent vessel or “ghost ship” cleaning contract.

S. Nagamani, 50, claimed he was offered a “Deep Sea Cleaning Services” project involving 11 vessels in the waters of Melaka and Thailand by an international company in 2023, before he offered the project to another company as a subcontractor.

He claimed the international company had asked him to make an advance payment to the subcontractor, but the reimbursement claim from the international firm had not been received to this day.

Nagamani said the fraud was only discovered after he conducted an independent check, which found that the barge numbers of the vessels did not exist in the international system, a matter also confirmed by the Malaysian Marine Department.

“The international company also disappeared and could not be contacted. I have lodged four police reports in Seremban, Ipoh and Teluk Intan over this case, but until now, it has been classified as No Further Action (NFA) by the authorities on the grounds of insufficient evidence,” he said at a press conference here today.

Adding to his predicament, Nagamani is now facing court action after the subcontractor involved demanded full payment, while his company’s account had also been frozen.

Nagamani’s plight has drawn the attention of the Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO), which is now appealing to the Perak Deputy Public Prosecutor’s Office to order the police to reopen investigations.

MHO secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim said the organisation had sent a letter to the Perak State Legal Adviser’s Office to appeal for a thorough investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

“This issue not only involves major losses to the victim, but also touches on the integrity of commercial transactions and confidence in the country’s criminal justice system.

“MHO will stand with victims to ensure their voices are heard,” he said at the same press conference at the MHO headquarters here today.

Hishamuddin also questioned the civil suit filed by the subcontractor against the victim for cleaning works allegedly completed, despite official records proving the vessels did not exist and had never entered the waters concerned.

-- BERNAMA