DOJ team in Indonesia to reclaim Equanimity

Alyaa Alhadjri & Anne MuhammadPublished: Mar 5, 2018 1:30 PM | Updated: Mar 5, 2018 1:52 PM

A team of prosecutors from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently in Indonesia to facilitate the handover process of the superyacht Equanimity, which was seized in connection with DOJ'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, told Malaysiakini that the prosecutors have been in Jakarta for the past week.

"The prosecution team came last week for purposes of legal coordination between Indonesia and the United States," Silitonga said when contacted today...

Daniel Silitonga, the deputy director of economic and special crimes in the republic's Central Police Department, told Malaysiakini that the prosecutors have been in Jakarta for the past week.

"The prosecution team came last week for purposes of legal coordination between Indonesia and the United States," Silitonga said when contacted today.

"The two main issues formally reported by the US to us (Indonesian police) were regarding their investigations on corruption and money-laundering," said Silitonga, who also confirmed that their counterparts from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had shared information based on the DOJ civil forfeiture suits.

"All matters (related to the case) are being handled by the US authorities.

"Indonesia was only requested to assist in locating and seizing the vessel so that it could be handed over to the requesting country (US) according to its laws," he added.

The DOJ claims that businessperson Low Taek Jho, or Jho 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.

Asked whether Indonesia would proceed with other related charges, Silitonga said they would inform the court that the matter has been handed over to US authorities.

"We would inform the court that under the law we have handed over the case to the US as the primary investigating authority.

"Indonesia is only assisting the FBI, so we will hand over all the evidence obtained and other related matters throughout the investigations here," he explained.

It was previously reported that Indonesian authorities had on Feb 21 formally received a request for assistance from the FBI with regard to the latter’s ongoing investigations into 1MDB.

After tracking down the yacht for eight days, a joint team comprising Indonesian central police, FBI officers and marine police seized the vessel in Benoa, Bali, last week.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali had said last Thursday that there would be no claim of the vessel from the Indonesian authorities because it does not belong to the Malaysian government.

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