Fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho has accused the Malaysian government of acquiring the US$250 million superyacht Equanimity "illegitimately" from Indonesian authorities.
"It is a violation of an Indonesian law and court decision by a politically motivated Malaysian government.
"The US Department of Justice has argued that it is critical that they have possession to ensure the asset retains its value until a fair court hearing can determine final ownership and the rights of all the parties involved," Low said via his lawyers, according to Bloomberg.
The US government has asserted rights over the vessel, which they believe involved laundered funds from 1MDB that went through the US financial system.
Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd, the registered owner of the vessel, has been challenging the seizure, which was performed by the Indonesian authorities on Feb 28 upon request by their US counterparts.
At the time, Low described the seizure by the Indonesian and US authorities as "global overreach".
In a separate statement, Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd accused Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad of interfering in the judicial process taking place in Indonesia and the US.
"Major news sources have reported that the Malaysian prime minister intervened personally with the Indonesian president through a phone call and/or in person, thereby injecting politics into ongoing legal proceedings in two sovereign nations.
"Although the Indonesian and US court proceedings had led to conflicting decisions regarding the status of the yacht, both proceedings at least had been open and transparent, with Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd being given a fair opportunity to present its positions and arguments.
"Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for whatever actions were undertaken by the government of Malaysia to seize the yacht," said the company in a statement sighted by Malaysiakini.
After the Equanimity docked in Port Klang this afternoon, attorney-general Tommy Thomas said the authorities had obtained an arrest warrant from the Kuala Lumpur High Court to seize the yacht.
1MDB has also laid claim to the vessel.
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