Jho Low's lawyers claim bringing Equanimity to Malaysia is 'illegal act' by Dr M

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's “illegal” act of bringing the Equanimity back to Malaysia proves he has no interest in a fair and just process, said the lawyers of businessman Jho Low. 

They said that this act ignores court rulings in legal proceedings in the US and Indonesia and that the yacht’s owner, Equanimity Cayman Limited, had already filed a claim on this asset, which was ignored by the Malaysian Prime Minister. 

“Further proceedings have been issued today in response to this illegal act. 

“Mahathir has chosen to bring the asset illegally into a rigged Malaysian system manipulated by a man who only cares about his absolute political rule. It is ultimately justice that suffers,” they claimed in a statement on Monday (Aug 6). 

They added that ever since the May 9 elections, Dr Mahathir has tried reinventing his public image. 

“The reality is that he has simply continued as he did during his previous regime and has shown that his only objectives are political: from freezing bank accounts of rival political parties, to trial-by-media, where guilt is proclaimed before any evidence is presented,” they said. 

The US$250mil (RM1bil) superyacht Equanimity, which purportedly belonged to fugitive businessman 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. 

Equanimity was seized in Bali on February at the request of US authorities as part of a multi-billion dollar corruption investigation related to 1MDB launched by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). 

However, a Jakarta court ruling in April declared the yacht was wrongfully impounded and it was released to its owners after they got a court motion to declare the seizure was illegal. 

However, the vessel was not allowed to leave the Tanjung Benoa port. 

In July, Indonesian police seized the yacht again following a formal request for legal assistance from the US.