A Mongolian model found dead in a murder that has rocked the nation's political establishment had been the lover of a top analyst now in custody, Mongolia's honorary consul said today.

Syed Abdul Rahman Alhabshi, citing accounts from two cousins of the woman, told AFP that the analyst - who has high-level connections and linked to deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak - travelled the world with the deputy premier.

The analyst was detained on Tuesday as part of the police investigation and is being held in custody until Sunday.

The model, Altantuya Shaariibuu, is thought to have been kidnapped outside his home. She was killed and her remains then blown up with hand grenades in an isolated area south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

The consul said her parents would fly here to identify the remains within a few days as police use DNA tests to confirm that they are of the 28-year-old, who disappeared Oct 19.

Unfounded rumours

He said forensic experts asked both parents to travel to Malaysia. "They just want to verify the remains that they found."

Syed Abdul Rahman, who has been overseeing the case, said the couple would fly in by Monday once Altantuya's mother had recovered from the shock of the death.

The consul said two female cousins who had travelled with the model to the country claimed she had been the analyst's lover, but scotched rumours he was the father of Altantuya's 16-month-old son.

"I can confirm that the son is not his... Altantuya also never said that," he said.

"Yes, they were lovers. They travelled to Europe, to Shanghai, China, Hong Kong, South Africa ... Her parents sent me the itinerary of the travel."

Syed Abdul Rahman said Altantuya entered Malaysia on Oct 6 intending to ask the analyst for financial assistance to send her sick son for surgery in South Korea.