It is up to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) if they want to seize the 1MDB-linked superyacht Equanimity, says Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak.
However, he said the people should not jump to conclusions on the matter.
"It is up to them whatever action they want to take. As the US ambassador to Malaysia said, that is the DOJ's problem.
"But we can't make conclusions, they are not just seizing the boat, they are also (attempting) to seize several properties in the US. So it is an ongoing process," Salleh (photo) told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
Malaysiakini reported today that a team of prosecutors from the DOJ is currently in Indonesia to facilitate the handover process of the yacht, which was seized in connection with the department's ongoing civil assets forfeiture suits linked to 1MDB.
Daniel Silitonga, the deputy director of economic and special crimes in the republic's Central Police Department, said the prosecutors had been in Indonesia for a week.
Salleh had earlier defended his remarks that there was no evidence that the Equanimity is owned by 1MDB-linked businessperson Jho Low.
He said his statement was based on his reading of the DOJ case facts.
The Equanimity was seized in Bali last week, in a joint operation involving Indonesian police and the US' Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
The DOJ claims that Low had commissioned the Equanimity to be built for an estimated US$250 million (RM1 billion), using money allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB.
The department believes that at least US$4.5 billion has been misappropriated from 1MDB by Malaysian government officials, among others, and is looking to recover approximately US$1.7 billion in assets allegedly acquired in the US using these stolen funds. -Mkini
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