Speaking for the first time, Jasbir Singh Chahl swore that the model was never in France when they were trying to close the deal.
"I am willing to swear on my holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, that I did not know this person, that she was never part of the team, had never met her, that she was never in France during the entire time we were there trying to close the deal.
"I only knew about her when I read the papers in 2006 that they had found her body," he told the New Straits Times in a special report entitled, 'Scorpene: The Untold Story', published in Kuala Lumpur today.
Jasbir pointed out that if Altantuya had acted as a translator for Abdul Razak Baginda, a former political analyst who had helped him broker the deal, she should have been present during all the meetings from 2000.
On the contrary, in official French documents made available to the NST, the French police have stated categorically that Altantuya never entered France from 1999 to 2006, the year she died.
It was also stated that all the meetings were held in France, with some in Malaysia, and were all in English.
"This is now what I am saying, you understand. This is what the relevant French authorities are saying," said Jasbir.
Abdul Razak, who was a close associate of then defence minister and now Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, hit the headlines in 2006 when he was charged with abetting in the murder of the 28-year-old Altantuya after she allegedly tried to blackmail him for a $500,000 cut from the deal.
He was acquitted on October 31, 2008 when the Malaysian High Court found no prima facie case against him, although two policemen linked to the murder were found guilty.
According to Abdul Razak's evidence in court, he had only met Altantuya in late 2004, whilst the negotiations on Scorpene deal began in 2000 and it was concluded two years later.
To a question on the necessity to appoint Altantuya as Abdul Razak's interpreter, as she was widely referred to, especially on blogs, Jasbir said: "You ask me why the blogs have gone around calling this girl Razak's interpreter? You should direct that question to the blogs".
The special report raised doubts on the necessity of hiring Altantuya as an interpreter when all negotiations with the French company were conducted in English.
The French team, in fact, was initially led by an Englishman, Martin Hill, who was also fluent in French, the report stated.
Additionally, in his deposition to the French authorities in 2010, former Direction des Construction Navales Services marketing manager for Malaysia and Singapore at that time, Fredric Faura, told investigators that there was no need for an interpreter since negotiations were in English and Malaysians were fluent in the language, it reported.
– Bernama
