Is the ‘return’ of the yacht Equanimity to Malaysia lawful?
Matthias Chang
Dear Brand New AG Tommy Thomas,
Did you advise the Malaysian government (which has a few lawyers as Ministers) and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad whether it is lawful for Indonesia to “return” the yacht “Equanimity” to Malaysia?
Has AGC or the Malaysian Govt. submitted any formal claims to any US COURTS OR INDONESIAN COURTS that she is entitled to ownership or custody or control of the yacht pending final disposal of ownership rights claimed by parties in the US Court in California?
What is the legal basis?
Are you or AGC aware whether any court in any jurisdiction has made a final order as to the rights of competing claimants to the said yacht in pending proceedings?
Who applied for an order (if any) for the yacht to be handed over to Malaysia when it is already subject to seizure order applied by the US DOJ and obtained from a US Court to transfer custody or control of the yacht to US jurisdiction following assistance obtained from the Indonesia’s Ministry of Justice pursuant to the said Order from USA.
What representation did AGC made (if any) to Indonesia or to DOJ or to the US COURT that granted the original order for arrest and seizure?
You had PUBLICLY declared that you had formed a Team of top Senior Federal Counsels to pursue civil claims against the 1MDB CULPRITS.
What claims (if any) have you (i.e. AGC) filed in any courts in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, USA, Switzerland, HongKong, etc?
If not, why not?
The news of the transfer of the yacht has made my stomach turned topsy-turvy.
Hopefully you will issue a Press Statement surrounded by the members of your Civil Team, ASAP, to clarify the AGC’s stand on the legality or illegality of the above action.
Jho Low’s luxury yacht Equanimity to arrive in Port Klang tomorrow
(The Star) – The US$250mil (RM1bil) superyacht Equanimity, which purportedly belonged to fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, is expected to arrive in Port Klang on Tuesday (Aug 7) afternoon.
A source said the vessel received its port clearance from the Batam Marine Department at 2.30pm Monday (Aug 6), indicating that its next port of call is Port Klang, and left at 4.45pm.
The source said at least four Malaysian policemen would accompany the ship and her crew to Malaysia.
“The ship would be leaving Batam this evening after it had been handed over to senior Malaysian marine police officers who were already in Batam to receive the vessel.
The superyacht arrived in Batam island in Indonesia on Monday morning.
It was supposed to head for the Batu Ampar port but had been diverted and anchored near the Pulau Nong lighthouse at the entrance to Tering Bay around 9.30am.
The yacht sailed from Tanjung Benoa port in Bali on Thursday (Aug 2).
Equanimity was seized in Bali on February at the request of US authorities as part of a multi-billion dollar corruption investigation launched by the Department of Justice (DoJ) related to 1MDB.
However, a Jakarta court ruling in April declared the yacht was wrongfully impounded and was released to its owners after they got a court motion to declare the seizure was illegal.
But the vessel was not allowed to leave Tanjung Benoa port.
In July, Indonesian police seized the yacht again following a formal request for legal assistance from the US.
Reuters reported the decision by the Indonesian government to hand over the yacht to Malaysia was reached following a personal request made by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who visited Indonesia in June.
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/08/06/jho-lows-luxury-yacht-equanimity-to-arrive-in-port-klang-tomorrow/#7e66lQ6kUEQ9YR3m.99
