COMMUNICATION and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak is standing by his assertion that there is “no proof” to connect Low Taek Jho to the Equanimity, the billion-ringgit yacht seized by Indonesian authorities last week in Bali.

“I have seen the documents in the lawsuit. It is an allegation that it (the yacht) belongs to Jho Low, but last year the investigation was suspended and now there are no documents saying as such,” Salleh told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.  

“The fact is, the source of the charge is contained in the US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) civil claim that has been pending since August 2017. To this day, the DoJ has not been able to establish that Jho Low is the owner of the luxury yacht or that it was bought with 1MDB funds.

Salleh was referring the civil forfeiture suits filed by the DoJ to seize assets bought with billions of dollars allegedly stolen from 1Malaysia Development Bhd. These assets include the US$260 million (RM1 billion) Equanimity, allegedly purchased by Low aka Jho Low, who is a central figure in US investigations into criminal wrongdoing linked to 1MDB. 

Salleh reiterated he had not seen any evidence that Low was the owner of the yacht impounded in Indonesia at the Federal Bureau of InvestigationI’s request.

The minister has come under fire for his assertion that there is no proof to show Jho Low is the owner of the Equanimity, or that the luxury vessel was purchased with funds siphoned from 1MDB.

Among his critics is fellow Umno colleague, Rais Yatim, who decried Salleh’s “hasty” defence of Jho Low, a confidante of and business adviser to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Rais said Salleh was denying that the Malaysian businessman owned the yacht even though it was clear by Jho Low’s reaction to its seizure that he had an interest in the matter.

“Why so hasty in defending Jho Low? (He) should defend justice,” Rais said on Twitter on Thursday.

In the opposition camp, Pakatan Harapan chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad has challenged Salleh to show proof of the yacht’s ownership if Jho Low was not its owner.

“How can he (Salleh) know? I want him to show the documents, who owns the yacht. 

“Every yacht must have a certificate of ownership, including other documents that will say where it is bought and from whom. I will believe him if he shows me the documents,” said Dr Mahathir. – March 5, 2018.