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Malaysia
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Indonesian court orders release of US$250 million luxury yacht linked to Malaysian investment fund scandal

The decision cited missteps in the police’s seizure of the vessel about six weeks ago, when Indonesian authorities acted on a request from the FBI

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The Cayman Islands-registered vessel Equanimity, which is owned by businessman Jho Low and was linked to allegations that US$4.5 billion was looted from Malaysia's state investment fund 1MDB. Photo: AFP
Agence France-Presse

A luxury yacht linked to allegations that US$4.5 billion was looted from Malaysia’s state investment fund 1MDB must be returned to its wealthy owner, an Indonesian court ruled on Tuesday, citing missteps by police in seizing the vessel.

The decision comes about six weeks after Indonesian authorities, acting on a request from the FBI, seized the Cayman Islands-registered Equanimity, reportedly worth some US$250 million, which was moored off the Indonesian tourist island of Bali. Its three dozen crew remain on the impounded ship.

The US Department of Justice alleges in civil lawsuits that huge sums of money were stolen from 1MDB – set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak – in a campaign of fraud and money-laundering. Najib and the fund deny any wrongdoing.
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The suits list US$1.7 billion in assets allegedly bought with the stolen funds, which US officials are seeking to recover.

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A protester holds a portrait of Jho Low as a pirate during a demonstration in Kuala Lumpur over the alleged multibillion-dollar theft of funds from a Malaysian state investment company. Photo: AP
A protester holds a portrait of Jho Low as a pirate during a demonstration in Kuala Lumpur over the alleged multibillion-dollar theft of funds from a Malaysian state investment company. Photo: AP

Those assets include the 300-foot (90-metre) yacht bought by Jho Low, a former unofficial adviser to 1MDB.

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