‘EQUANIMITY’ CAN BE SOLD
Order made after acknowledging yacht’s security issues, maintenance cost, says counsel
THE Admiralty Court has granted an application by the government, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and two of its subsidiaries to sell the luxury superyacht Equanimity, linked to fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho.
Judicial commissioner Datuk Khadijah Idris allowed the application after proceedings in chambers with relevant parties under Order 29 Rule 4 of the Rules of Court 2012.
Counsel Ong Chee Kwan, who represented all the plaintiffs, said Khadijah said the order was made after acknowledging the yacht’s security issues and maintenance cost.
He said the RM1 billion vessel was expected to be sold by the end of the year, pending litigation on the ownership of the yacht.
“The court has granted us an order to sell the vessel. Our next step is to get the vessel sold as it is a diminishing asset and the cost of maintenance is very high,” said Ong, who is counsel for 1MDB and its subsidiaries, namely 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd and 1MDB Global Investment Ltd.
“The longer you keep it (the vessel), its value will diminish at the end of the day. So we want it to be sold as soon as possible.”
Senior federal counsel Alice Loke and Zureen Elena Md Dom represented the government.
It was reported that on Thursday, 1MDB, its two subsidiaries and the government filed a court order seeking to expedite the sale of the vessel.
The plaintiffs named owner of the yacht, Equanimity of Cayman Islands, as the defendant in the suit filed through law firm Jeremy Joseph & Partners.
In the notice of application, the four plaintiffs asked for the sale of the ship, bunkers, fuel, lubricants and other consumables on board to be conducted via public tender or private treaty by the Admiralty Court sheriff.
The firms want the sheriff to receive bids or offers for the vessel and bunkers, and for the purchase price to be paid to the sheriff in US dollars, euros or ringgit.
The firms said the proceeds from the sale should be paid into court and placed in a bank account in Malaysia as approved by the accountant general.
A writ of summons was issued on Aug 6 to the “owner of the vessel” and Wilson Yacht Management Ltd, the company that operates the Equanimity.
The superyacht was brought to Malaysia on Aug 7 after the Indonesian authorities handed it over.
It was seized off Bali in February at the request of the United States authorities as part of a corruption investigation launched by the US Department of Justice into 1MDB.