Court rules against yacht seizure

JAKARTA: The Indonesian police’s seizure of a luxury yacht at the request of the FBI was unlawful, a Jakarta court said on Tuesday, in a blow to the US probe into an alleged multibillion-dollar theft of funds from a Malaysian state investment company.

At the South Jakarta District Court, Judge Ratmoho, who uses one name, ordered the return of the yacht to its owner.

Indonesian police seized the US$250 million (7.8 billion baht) Equanimity off Bali on Feb 28 in cooperation with the FBI but were prevented from handing it over to the US after a legal challenge from the yacht’s Cayman Islands-registered holding company.

The Equanimity is among assets the US Department of Justice alleges were bought by Malaysian national Jho Low using money stolen from 1MDB, the Malaysian fund, and laundered through Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the US.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was embroiled in the scandal when it emerged that some $700 million had passed through his personal bank accounts. He denied any wrongdoing and said the money was a political donation from the Saudi royal family that was later returned.

Mr Ratmoho said the US request for cooperation should have been through Indonesia’s Ministry of Law under a 2006 law governing mutual legal assistance. Police should have advised the FBI to follow that process, he said.

“Police should only conduct joint operations after mutual legal assistance is agreed by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights,” he said.

The Department of Justice filed a civil case in June seeking recovery of assets worth several hundred million dollars it says were bought with laundered 1MDB money, including Equanimity. Overall, it says more than $4.5 billion was stolen between 2009 and 2014 from 1MDB, which was set up by Mr Najib to promote economic development.

Mr Low, an associate of Mr Najib, had no formal role at the fund but considerable influence over it, according to US court documents.

Andi Simangunsong, a lawyer for Equanimity’s holding company, welcomed the ruling and said the court had provided clear guidance to police on dealing with foreign requests for legal cooperation.

“There are procedures to be followed under the mutual legal assistance law,” he said.