A luxury yacht has been seized in Indonesia as part of an FBI investigation into alleged multibillion-dollar corruption at a Malaysian state-run investment fund.
Local police and FBI officers were seen onboard the $250million vessel moored off the tourist island of Bali, on Wednesday.
It is owned by Malaysian financier Jho Low, a businessman educated at prestigious British boarding school Harrow, and friends with celebrities like Leonardo Di Caprio.
Big catch: The $250million luxury yacht, named ‘Equanimity’, is seen in the Benoa harbor in Bali, Indonesia after it was seized by US and Indonsian authorities
The yacht is part of $540 million in assets allegedly embezzled from the Malaysian government fund that the U.S. Justice Department is seeking to recover.
Overall, the Justice Department says more than $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund, set up in 2009 by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Razak was embroiled in the scandal when it emerged that nearly $1 billion had passed through his personal bank accounts. He and the fund deny any wrongdoing.
Among the assets sought by the U.S. Justice Department is Mr Low’s luxury yacht, Equanimity, now seized in Bali.
The lawsuits said Low used proceeds diverted from 1MDB to procure Equanimity, which it described as a 300-foot (91-m) yacht registered in the Cayman Islands.
The vessel has an interior clad in marble and gold leaf, a spa and sauna, a 20-metre (66-ft) swimming pool on deck, a movie theatre, a lift and a helipad, says a website on luxury charters, yachtcharterfleet.com.
Low’s whereabouts are unknown and his Hong Kong company has not responded to requests for comment.
Agung Setya, director of economic crimes at Indonesia’s national police, told MetroTV that local authorities began working with U.S. authorities a week ago in relation to the vessel.
He said it was located on Tuesday in waters off the island of Lombok, which neighbors Bali, and then shifted to Bali’s Tanjung Benoa waters.
‘We have legal confirmation that this asset is the result of a crime,’ he said.
‘Our law stipulates that anyone who hides an asset resulting from the proceeds of crime is committing a money laundering crime.’
Setya said police had secured a court order to seize Equanimity and are questioning its 34 crew.
In an emailed statement through his representative in June last year, Low said the DOJ’s actions were an example ‘of global overreach in pursuit of a deeply flawed case’.
Other assets allegedly bought by Low with stolen 1MDB funds include a private jet, a hotel and real estate in New York, and a $107-million interest in EMI Music Publishing.
Some assets have been returned. Australian model and actress Miranda Kerr handed over millions of dollars worth of jewellery that U.S. authorities say was given to her by Low, including a jewelry set gifted to her during a 2014 excursion on Equanimity.
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio also returned to authorities an Oscar once owned by actor Marlon Brando and other items the United States says were funded with 1MDB money.
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