Jho Low: Bid to sell superyacht a sham

KUALA LUMPUR: Fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, has slammed the government for seeking a court order to expedite the sale of superyacht Equanimity.

Low, in a statement issued through his lawyer, maintained his stand that the seizure of the RM1 billion superyacht by the government was illegal, and called the court hearing yesterday a “sham”.

“The hearing is part of an unjust and arbitrary legal process subjected to the whims of a vindictive regime regarding an asset, whose ownership has yet to be determined,” he said.

“The unfortunate part is that the United States government was willing to cover the cost of the ship’s upkeep while proceedings were pending in the US.

“Instead, as a public stunt, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has unnecessarily put this financial burden on the government and, given the illegal manner which he took the asset, it is unlikely any bid will come close to its (the yacht’s) market value.”

The owner of the yacht, Equanimity of Cayman Islands, earlier said it had not received any legal notice or filing related to a sale or pending court hearing on the matter.

It said the seizure by the government and apparent intent to immediately sell it would drastically reduce the yacht’s value.

“Malaysia, apparently, does not have — or does not want to spend — the necessary funds to maintain the vessel while it is prepared for a value-maximising sale.

“Malaysia has, instead, proposed a ‘fire sale’, in which the yacht is to be sold for a fraction of its true value.”