Jho Low: Govt eroded Equanimity's value to score political points

PETALING JAYA: Jho Low claims that the so-called "failure" of the government to hold a successful auction of the yacht Equanimity is another example of a "Mahathir regime" prioritising illegal acts over the rule of law to score political points.

"This was a failed public relations (PR) stunt from the outset," the fugitive financier, whose real name is Low Taek Jho, said in a statement issued through his lawyers.

By seizing the yacht from Indonesia and docking it at Port Klang, and then subjecting the vessel to media and public access, Low claimed, the Malaysian government was responsible for substantially eroding the Equanimity's value.

His statement was in regard to the failure of the Malaysian government to sell the yacht via an auction.

Low also alleged that the Equanimity was wrongfully taken from Indonesia, as the "Mahathir regime" had "arrogantly ignored" court rulings in Indonesia as well as established legal proceedings in the US.

With so much doubt hanging over its ownership, Low claimed that no "sensible", independent third-party buyer would purchase a vessel from an unreliable vendor at anything other than a hugely depressed value.

"Indeed, what now amounts to the doomed fire-sale of the Equanimity is an admission that this political PR stunt by the Mahathir regime has failed, and that these acts by the Malaysian government have been nothing more than political gamesmanship at the cost of the rule of law and the fair administration of justice," he added.