Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho will probably be ordered to turn over his $250 million yacht to U.S. officials, who claim he bought it with money siphoned from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd sovereign wealth fund.
A federal judge in Los Angeles said Monday that she will issue an order shortly on the Justice Department’s request to get custody of the “Equanimity,” which is currently in Indonesia. U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer initially ruled in April that the ship could be sailed to the U.S. from Bali, but a court in Jakarta later found that the police hadn’t followed proper procedures and ordered the yacht returned.
The Cayman Island-registered vessel Equanimity. Photographer: Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP via Getty Images
Fischer wasn’t persuaded by the argument that her ruling would override orders of a foreign court. She said lawyers for Low and the trusts that hold title to the 300-foot (91-meter) yacht may want get their “mandamus papers” ready, referring to their threat to appeal her ruling.
The boat was seized by Indonesian authorities in February at the request of the U.S. The “Equanimity” is among more than $1.5 billion in real estate and other assets that the U.S. alleges Low and his accomplishes bought with stolen 1MDB funds.
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Jeremy Matz, a lawyer for the trusts that own the yacht for Low’s benefit, said after the hearing that his clients will comply with a final and binding court order to turn over the yacht. Matz reiterated that he will appeal a ruling against his clients.
Jho Low Photographer: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation
Newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Saturday, three days after he secured a shocking win, that predecessor Najib Razak was barred from leaving the country. Mahathir also said he’d reopen a graft probe targeting the wealth fund and said he was replacing the attorney general who cleared Najib and instructed the auditor-general to declassify a 1MDB report that was protected by the Official Secrets Act.
Mahathir, who was prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and defected to the opposition in order to stand as their candidate for premier, repeatedly called Najib a “thief” on the campaign trail and pledged to revisit the 1MDB issue.
Riza Aziz, a friend of Low and one of the individuals the U.S. alleges was involved in looting the 1MDB fund, is a stepson of Najib. His movie production company Red Granite Pictures agreed to pay $60 million to settle a forfeiture lawsuit by the U.S., alleging he financed the “Wolf of Wall Street” with stolen money.
The U.S. and Low’s lawyers are negotiating a sale of the “Equanimity” while the forfeiture lawsuit is unresolved, but are deeply divided on whether the transaction should take place in the U.S. or in the Mediterranean, which the trusts argue is a superior market for “super yachts.”
PUTRAJAYA: The Government “roughly knows” where to find controversial businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The Prime Minister was asked if the help of Interpol had been sought to locate him.
“We have not requested, but we roughly know where he is,” Dr Mahathir said during a press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here on Monday (May 14).
Jho Low has been linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy.
When asked how he would be brought back to Malaysia, Dr Mahathir said, “Leave it to us.”
“I don't go around catching people (personally). There are agencies tasked with catching people,” he quipped.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government ‘roughly knows’ where to find businessman Low Taek Jho.
He said this when asked if the government has sought any help from the Interpol to locate the businessman, also known as Jho Low, who is said to be linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) controversy.
"We have not seek any help from the Interpol but, we roughly know where he is." he told a Press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya.
When asked how the government is planning to bring the businessman back to Malaysia, Dr Mahathir said: "Leave it to us, I don't go and catch people, there are agencies which are tasked to catch people".
Meanwhile, on the Pakatan Harapan's promise to set up an RCI on 1MDB in its 14th General Election manifesto, Dr Mahathir said the government has to formulate concrete charges against those involved in the issue before setting up a RCI.
“We can’t go into the (setting up of a) Royal Commission until we have some concrete charges against them." he said.
