KUALA LUMPUR: Luxury yacht ‘Equanimity’, linked to fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, is on its way from Indonesia to Port Klang.
The vessel, which is being escorted by Malaysian police, is expected to dock in Port Klang at 3pm on Tuesday.
Its is learnt that several senior officers from the Marine Police are also on the vessel after it was handed over by Indonesian authorities in water off the Singapore Straits.
Sources said the vessel, which has been linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) issue, is also being escorted by three Marine Police patrol boats all the way to Port Klang.
The Indonesian government handed over the yacht to the Malaysian authorities following a request by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, made during his visit to the republic in June.
Dr Mahathir, in a statement via his Facebook account on Monday, had thanked his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo and the Indonesian authorities for handing over the vessel.
“I wish to thank Indonesia for their close cooperation with Malaysia and for resolving one of our problems. We believe that this vessel is owned by Malaysia as it was bought by certain quarters using stolen Malaysian funds.
“If anyone wishes to claim that the yacht is theirs, they are free to provide evidence stating thus. We (the government) would like to know how they received that much money to buy such an expensive vessel,” he said via a video posting.
He said if the owner can prove that the vessel was purchased using their own money, the government would then return the yacht to the rightful owner.
He said based on reports and preliminary investigations by the United States’ Department of Justice (DoJ), the yacht was bought using funds stolen from 1MDB.
“I am truly grateful to the Indonesian government and President Jokowi for solving a problem faced by Malaysia,” he said.
The vessel was seized by Indonesian authorities in February following a request by the US DoJ to facilitate a probe into the scandal surrounding 1MDB.
However, in April, the Indonesian courts ruled that the seizure was unlawful, and that the vessel should be returned to its owner, Low.
The yacht was once again seized in July following another official request from the US government.