Court grants application to sell ‘Equanimity’

KUALA LUMPUR: The Admiralty Court here has granted an application by the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) Group and the government to sell the Equanimity super­yacht, which is allegedly linked to businessman Low Taek Jho.

Judicial Commissioner Kadijah Idris allowed the application to sell the ship by 1MDB, its subsidiaries 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd and 1MDB Global Investment Ltd, and the government pursuant to Order 29 Rule 4 of Rules of Court 2012.

The four plaintiffs filed the application to enable them to evaluate the asset and sell the vessel.

Senior Federal Counsel Alice Loke acted for the government.

1MDB Group’s counsel Ong Chee Kwan told this to reporters after the proceedings in chambers yesterday.

“The court granted us an order to sell the vessel pending the determination of the action (litigation). Our next step is to get the vessel sold as it is a diminishing asset and its cost of maintenance is very high.

“We need to sell it as soon as possible because the longer you keep it, (the more) the value of the vessel will diminish at the end of the day,” he said.

When asked by reporters whether there was any response from the vessel’s owner, he said: “We served the application to the vessel (to the defendant) on Wednesday and if they are interested to defend the matter, they should enter appearance and come before this court.

“But we have not received any appearance as of today,” Ong said, adding that the next step was to get application on judgment in default.

“We hope to complete the sale of the ship as soon as possible and before the end of the year. It will be sold under public tender,” he said.

Another counsel, Jeremy M. Joseph, said those interested in the proceed of sale could come to court.

In explaining further on the ownership issue, he said whoever was declared as the owner of the vessel would be able to claim the money in court.

“Once we get the judgment in default, we are entitled to claim the proceeds. We know what is required to get the judgment in default.

“At the moment, our main focus is to ensure the vessel is sold,” he said.

He also said they had yet to identify the buyer of the vessel as their next step was to get the vessel appraised and valued, and there could be a condition survey on the vessel.

They would then speak to specialists to ensure the sale of the vessel at the best possible price.

The 1MDB Group and the government have named the owner of the ship as Equanimity of Cayman Islands, the sole defendant in the suit filed via the law firm of Jeremy Joseph and Partners on Thursday.

On Aug 6, a writ of summons was issued to the owner of the vessel and to Wilson Yacht Management Ltd, the company that operates Equanimity.

The superyacht arrived in Malay­sia on Aug 7 after being handed over by the Indonesian authorities.

Equanimity was seized off the coast of Bali by Indonesia in Feb­ruary at the request of US authorities as part of a multi-billion-dollar corruption probe launched by the US Department of Justice over 1MDB.

In the notice of application, the four plaintiffs are asking for the sale of the vessel, bunkers, fuel, lubricants and other consumables on board to be conducted through an open tender or a private treaty by the sheriff of the Admiralty Court Kuala Lumpur.

The plaintiffs want the sheriff to receive bids or offers for the vessel and the bunkers, and for the purchase price to be paid to the sheriff in US dollar, euros or ringgit.