Indonesian police quiz immigration officers about Jho Low's yacht
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JAKARTA • Indonesian police are questioning officers from the immigration office and the Benoa Harbour authority to find out if the crew of a seized luxury yacht had violated immigration procedures to enter Indonesian waters.
The yacht is allegedly owned by Malaysian financier Jho Low.
Indonesian authorities seized the yacht Equanimity off the resort island of Bali on Wednesday, at the request of the United States authorities investigating alleged money laundering at Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The police are also investigating the purpose of the vessel's visit to Bali, the Jakarta Post reported.
"We are still in the process of matching the data we get from the yacht with the data we get from the FBI," said Senior Commander Daniel Tahi Monang Silitonga, deputy director for financial crimes at the National Police's detective unit, the Jakarta Post reported.
According to the police, the yacht entered Bali's Benoa Harbour on Nov 20 last year, but its movements after arriving remain unknown.
The police questioned the South African captain of the yacht, identified as Mr Rolf Sieboldt-Berry, and two other crew members on Thursday.
It is suspected that the skipper had deliberately turned off the automated identification system (AIS) when it was in Indonesian waters, to avoid pursuit by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, tribunnews.com reported.
A total of 29 crew members of various nationalities are under police custody on board the vessel.
Mr Rando Purba, the lawyer for the crew, said his clients denied that they had tried to avoid the FBI.
According to them, the yacht entered Indonesia for vacation purposes. "It was to enjoy Indonesia," Mr Rando told The Jakarta Post.
Mr Rando added that the captain had to turn off the AIS to "evade pirates" in the Andaman Sea before entering Phuket in Thailand.
From Phuket, the yacht continued its trip to Bali with the AIS turned on, he said.
1MDB is at the centre of billion-dollar money-laundering probes in at least six countries, including the US, Switzerland and Singapore.
Among the assets the US Department of Justice is seeking to seize is Equanimity, a US$250 million (S$330 million) luxury yacht allegedly bought by Mr Low with proceeds diverted from 1MDB.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on March 04, 2018, with the headline 'Indonesian police quiz immigration officers about Jho Low's yacht'. Print Edition |
DR Mahathir Mohamad has continued to roast a cabinet minister over his comments about a super yacht that was seized as part of investigations into 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Pakatan Harapan’s prime minister-designate skewered Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak for "knowing Jho Low better than Jho Low himself”.
Dr Mahathir was referring to Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, a central figure in the 1MBD scandal, whose yacht, The Equanimity, was seized in Indonesian waters last week.
“(Salleh) said the yacht does not belong to Jho Low. But Jho Low said it is his. So, Salleh Keruak knows Jho Low better than Jho Low himself”, Dr Mahathir said an event in Taiping, Perak, today.
“People like this have ilmu ghaib (super powers). He knows more than the owner of the ship.”
Salleh had said that there was no proof that the yacht belonged to Jho Low or that it was bought with money stolen from 1MDB.
Low is said to be Prime Minister Najib Razak’s confidante and business adviser. He is also said to have close ties with several ministers.
He has been named by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) as the mastermind in a scheme to siphon billions of dollars from the state investment fund. It is alleged that the yacht was among various luxury assets purchased with money from 1MDB, a brainchild of Najib.
The DoJ has launched a criminal investigation into funds allegedly siphoned off from 1MDB and has sought to delay civil suits filed in the past two years to forfeit more than US$1 billion (RM4.3 billion) in real estate and other assets.
After The Equanimity was seized off Bali, Indonesia, on Wednesday, Low accused the DoJ of “global overreach”.
A spokesman for the fugitive businessman said despite staying asset forfeiture proceedings, the DoJ had continued its “deeply flawed and politically-motivated” allegations of impropriety.
“It is, therefore, disappointing that rather than reflect on the deeply flawed and politically-motivated allegations, the DoJ is continuing with its pattern of global overreach – all based on entirely unsupported claims of wrongdoing.”
In his speech, Dr Mahathir said several countries had taken action in the 1MDB scandal except Malaysia, where no one has been prosecuted.
“The DoJ found that the yacht was bought by money that was stolen. Whose money is it? It’s our money. Najib established 1MDB, which did not do any business.
“It did not turn a sen of profit. It has debts of RM42 billion. Half of the money was siphoned to Jho Low.”
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