Now that the 1MDB-linked superyacht Equanimity is back in Malaysian shores, the government is now looking into retrieving fugitive financier Jho Low’s private jet.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad stated Malaysia must now turn its attention towards bringing back the jet when questioned on the matter today.
“Yes, I think so, we have to bring it (the private jet) back,” the premier said after visiting an art exhibition titled ‘Tun M: A Forever Legacy’ at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park in Serdang today.
However, he was scant on the details on the efforts to bring back Low’s private jet, which is currently being held in Singapore.
“I don’t know (much about the effort to bring back the jet), somebody else is doing it,” he said, when asked whether discussions on this matter were already ongoing.
Singapore reportedly seized the US$35 million Bombardier Global 5000 jet in February, where it has been grounded since.
Both the jet and the US$250 million yacht are assets which the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking to seize as part of its US$1 billion civil forfeiture suit.
The DOJ claimed these assets were purchased using proceeds of misappropriated 1MDB funds.
The Equanimity, which purportedly belongs to Low through a series of intermediaries, was also first seized by Indonesia in February.
Indonesia announced last week that the ship would be handed over to Malaysia. It arrived in Port Klang on Tuesday where it remains docked.
Mahathir boarded the yacht for the first time yesterday, describing it as “super luxurious” and unlike any other he has ever been on.
The Malaysian government intends to sell the vessel as maintaining it would be too costly, it said.
In a statement through his lawyers earlier today, Low, whose full name is Low Taek Jho, stated that Mahathir had hijacked international legal proceedings to take possession of the ship.
In a statement through his lawyers earlier today, Low, whose full name is Low Taek Jho, stated that Mahathir had hijacked international legal proceedings to take possession of the ship.
He added that Mahathir was "putting words into the mouth” of the DOJ when the former claimed the US had agreed to the Equanimity being handed over to Malaysia. -Mkini
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