A Chinese mining company has denied admitting that it had paid for BN politicians' datukship titles in order to obtain the concession of an iron ore mine in Bukit Besi, Terengganu.

CAA Resources - which shot into the limelight after the New York Times (NYT) ran an article quoting its CEO, Li Yang with the supposed admissions - issued a statement in Hong Kong recently, saying that Li never made the said remarks and that the company never paid for politicians' titles.

"The company and Mr Li reserve all rights to take legal action in respect of the inaccurate media reports," the statement - issued by Li Yang himself, on order of the company board - read.

It also denied that Li had ever been approached by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to elaborate on the remarks.

"Li has not been approached by the MACC, and is not involved in any proceedings by the MACC as of the date of this announcement," it said.

The firm further said that it has not commenced any iron ore mining operations in Terengganu, as conditions for a proposed acquisition "have not been satisified".

It, however, admitted that an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the company had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in October 2013, in relation to the mining land.

The Terengganu government had also previously denied allegations that CAA Resources was greenlighted to mine ore from Bukit Besi.

According to the NYT report, Li, 27, reportedly admitted to paying RM330,000 per individual, for two politicians to obtain royal titles.

The report also stated Li as saying that the individuals from the "ruling party" had indirect stakes in the mine.