Putrajaya may sell off Equanimity, says Guan Eng

When asked how the federal government planned to sell the yacht, Lim said he would leave it to the Attorney-General to explain the process.

(FMT) – Putrajaya may sell the Equanimity, the luxurious yacht which purportedly belongs to controversial Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, to get back the money allegedly stolen from 1MDB, Lim Guan Eng said.

The finance minister said if the government receives a good offer for the yacht, which is expected to reach Malaysian shores tomorrow, they will sell it.

“And the money will be returned to the people,” he said at the Parliament lobby.

Lim, however, admitted that he didn’t know how much Putrajaya could get from the sale of the US$250 million yacht.

When asked how the federal government planned to sell the yacht, Lim said he would leave it to the Attorney-General to explain the process.

Lim said he would be meeting the AG, Tommy Thomas, and would make sure that all the relevant papers were in order.

On Saturday, it was reported that Indonesia agreed to hand over to Malaysia the luxury yacht linked to the 1MDB corruption scandal. Indonesian authorities had impounded the yacht in Bali earlier this year.

The Cayman Islands-flagged Equanimity was seized in February at the request of US authorities as part of a multi-billion dollar corruption investigation related to 1MDB launched by the Department of Justice.

An Indonesian court ruling in April declared that the yacht was wrongfully impounded and should be released to its owners.

Indonesian police seized the yacht again in July following a formal request for legal assistance from the United States.

Low is seen as a central figure in the scandal. According to the lawsuits, Low used proceeds diverted from 1MDB to procure Equanimity, a 91m-long yacht with an interior clad in marble and gold leaf, a spa and sauna, a 20-metre swimming pool on deck, a movie theatre, a lift and a helipad.