AFTER a month on the auction table, the judicial sale process of the Equanimity super yacht draws to a close today, with all eyes waiting for the unveiling of its highest bidder.

The sheriff of the High Court of Malaya will open the sealed bids sent by potential buyers and announce the vessel’s new owner. However, it is not known when this will take place.

Prospective buyers had to put down a deposit of US$1 million (RM4.2 million) each before being qualified to make a bid.

“Tomorrow (Today) marks the last auction day,” Sitpah Selvaratnam, the specially appointed shipping lawyer for the Attorney-General’s Chambers, told The Malaysian Insight. 

“The announcement as to who is the winning bidder will be made by the sheriff.”

Sitpah said only the sheriff knows the number of bids made for the super yacht. 

The sheriff also holds the sealed appraisal note, which sets the court-approved value of the yacht. The government is expected to consider other sale options if all bids are lower than the note. 

The 91.5m yacht went on sale on October 27, after Malaysia took possession of it from Indonesia, where the yacht was first seized as part of an asset-recovery operation by the US Department of Justice in its probe into stolen 1Malaysia Development Bhd funds.

The vessel belonged to Penang-born businessman Low Taek Jhow, also known as Jho Low, who bought it for US$250 million using 1MDB-linked funds in 2014.

Low was also accused of being the mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal and has been charged in Malaysia in absentia with money laundering and indicted in the US for bribing foreign officials.

Bidding was green-lighted last month by the Kuala Lumpur Admiralty Court, which declared that the government and 1MDB were the beneficiary owner and that the government was free to sell the super yacht.

Sitpah expects “no issues” to crop up regarding the subsequent ownership of the yacht. 

The sales agent, yacht broker Burgess, said on its website that the judicial sale will provide the buyer with an “internationally recognised ownership title free of mortgage, attachment and all encumbrances”.

Proceeds from the sale of the yacht, which was seized under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLA), will be placed in a fixed deposit trust account, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas said in August. 

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said the government wanted to dispose of the vessel as soon as possible, citing monthly maintenance costs of up to RM3 million.

Constructed by Netherlands-based custom yacht builder Oceano, Equanimity is the 54th largest yacht in the world at 2,998 tonnes.

Her lavish fittings include interiors adorned with gold leaf and marble, pools, a spa and sauna.

Equanimity won the Monaco Yacht Show’s Best in Show award in 2014 and was delivered to Low in June that same year.

The vessel can accommodate 26 guests and crew of 28.

Putrajaya in June issued an arrest warrant for Low, who is accused of siphoning off billions of ringgit from 1MDB. – November 28, 2018.