Genting Purchases Jho Low’s Superyacht for US$126 Million
After months of going through seemingly endless legal disputes and unsuccessful auction attempts, Jho Low’s superyacht The Equanimity has finally found a buyer.
Genting Malaysia Berhad bought the infamous vessel on Wednesday for US$126 million, less than the government’s minimum asking price of US$130 million and half of its value price of US$250 million purchase price.
After it was seized from Indonesian waters in March last year, the Equanimity was first put up for sale in October 2018 before getting the highest bid from Genting. According to Bernama, Malaysia’s Attorney General, Tommy Thomas said many offers for the superyacht were received since then, however few were over US$100 million.
An official court statement released on Wednesday stated Genting is required to pay the amount by the end of this April. The deal marks the highest amount of money recovered by the government from the 1MDB scandal. It was added that Genting went through negotiating directly with the government instead of going through an agency, saving the casino and theme park operator about US$4.4 million in commission fees.
Meanwhile, Malaysian fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or better known as Jho Low, who is currently facing charges for money laundering in Malaysia, mocked the deal via an email statement made through his spokesman, co-CEO of Wells Haslem Mayhew Strategic Public Affairs Benjamin Haslem, saying that the deal was done at a “bargain-basement sale price” and that it would have maintained its value had it not been illegally seized from Indonesia and “docked in a hazardous environment at Port Klang.”
The 300 foot luxury superyacht with space for 26 guests and 33 crew members, is just one of the many possessions bought by Jho Low and his associates using money taken from the 1MDB state fund.
Related: Xavier Justo: The Man Who Got Tangled Up in 1MDB
