Wisma Putra has denied issuing any letter or document relating to any claim made by the next-of-kin of passengers and crew of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370.

The ministry, in a statement today, said an attempt was made by an individual to exploit the incident to get a favourable consideration by using a forged letterhead purportedly from Wisma Putra.

"A local bank has referred the case to the Foreign Ministry where the mailer, who claimed he is the next-of-kin of one of the MH370 passengers, asked for a deferred car loan," said the Foreign Ministry.

Flight MH370, with 239 people aboard, left the KL International Airport at 12.41 am on March 8 and disappeared from radar screens about an hour later while over the South China Sea. It was to have arrived in Beijing at 6.30 am on the same day.

A multinational search was mounted for the Boeing 777-200 aircraft, first in the South China Sea and then, after it was learnt that the plane had veered off course, in the southern Indian Ocean where it was said to have ended its flight path.

- Bernama