Equanimity: Gov't wants court order declaring 1MDB as legal owner
PARLIAMENT | The government intends to seek a court declaration that the 1MDB group is the legal owner of the superyacht Equanimity and for the proceeds from the vessel's sale to return to the government through the company.
"The government's objective in these proceedings (involving the Equanimity) is to ask for... a declaration that the 1MDB group is the legal and beneficial owner of the vessel or part owner in proportion to its respective shares, to the extent that the money and or properties of the 1MDB group were used on behalf of the defendant to buy the ship...
PARLIAMENT | The government intends to seek a court declaration that the 1MDB group is the legal owner of the superyacht Equanimity and for the proceeds from the vessel's sale to return to the government through the company.
"The government's objective in these proceedings (involving the Equanimity) is to ask for... a declaration that the 1MDB group is the legal and beneficial owner of the vessel or part owner in proportion to its respective shares, to the extent that the money and or properties of the 1MDB group were used on behalf of the defendant to buy the ship.
"And also, (we seek) a court order for the distribution of the proceeds of the sale of the vessel to the 1MDB group, in accordance with and to the extent of the ownership of the vessel," said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong during the Minister's Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
1MDB group is wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).
Contested ownership
The Equanimity has been the subject of a custody battle after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil forfeiture suit on the US$250 million vessel last year.
The DOJ claims that the luxury yacht was bought using misappropriated 1MDB funds laundered through the US financial system, and that fugitive financier Low Taek Jho owns the vessel through a series of intermediaries including Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd.
On Feb 28, Indonesian authorities seized the vessel off the coast of Bali pursuant to a mutual legal assistance (MLA) request to enforce an arrest warrant issued by the US courts last year.
Another group of lawyers representing Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd had been contesting the Indonesian seizure in a filing made at the South Jakarta District Court on Aug 6.
Indonesia handed over the Equanimity to Malaysia last week, and it arrived on Aug 7 at Port Klang where it remains docked and guarded.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had then challenged Low to come back to Malaysia to claim the ship if he believes he is the rightful owner of the Equanimity.
