‘GOVT, 1MDB RIGHTFUL OWNERS OF EQUANIMITY’
Funds from 1MDB was used to purchase vessel, court rules
THE High Court (Admiralty) has ruled that the government and three others are the rightful owners of the luxury yacht Equanimity.
This, the court ruled, was because funds from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), a company fully controlled by the Finance Ministry, was used to purchase it.
Counsel Sitpah Selvaratnam, representing 1MDB and the government, said the court made the order in allowing judgment in default against the vessel’s registered owner.
A judgment in default is a binding judgment in favour of either party based on a failure to take action by one party, such as failing to respond to summons or failing to appear before the court of law.
“The court held that the ship belonged to the government because 1MDB money was used to purchase it,” she said after obtaining the judgment before judicial commissioner Datuk Khajidah Idris.
“The vessel’s registered owner — Equanimity of Cayman Islands — did not turn up to contest the suit and deny the claim by the government, 1MDB and its two subsidiaries, 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited and 1MDB Global Investment Limited,” she said.
The RM1 billion vessel, said to be the 57th largest in the world, is currently anchored in Port Klang. It is expected to be put up for sale next month.
Sitpah said she hoped the vessel could be sold by the end of the year. The vessel’s value, she said, would be kept confidential as the government was keen on having more bidders enter the picture.
On Oct 5, the court granted an application by the government to appoint a central foreign broker to handle the sale of the vessel. An international appraiser will proceed with the documentation process such as advertisement and information memorandum.
It was reported on Aug 23 that the government, 1MDB and its two subsidiaries, 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited and 1MDB Global Investment Limited, had filed a court order seeking to expedite the sale of the vessel.
The plaintiffs named Equanimity of Cayman Islands as the defendant in the suit filed via the law firm Jeremy Joseph & Partners.
In the notice of application, the four plaintiffs are asking for the sale of the ship, bunkers, fuel, lubricants and other consumables on board to be conducted via public tender or private treaty by the Admiralty Court sheriff.
The firms 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, Euro, or in ringgit.
The firms said the proceeds from the sale of the vessel should be paid to the court and placed in a bank account in Malaysia as approved by the Accountant-General.
A writ of summons was issued on Aug 6 to the “owner of the vessel”, as well as to Wilson Yacht Management Ltd, the company that operates Equanimity.
The superyacht was brought to Malaysia on Aug 7 after the Indonesian authorities handed over it to Malaysia.