A LUXURY yacht linked to allegations that billions of dollars have been looted from 1Malaysia Development Bhd is being handed over to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is probing the scandal, Indonesian police said today.

US and Indonesian authorities last week searched the Cayman Island-registered Equanimity, reportedly worth US$250 million (RM1 billion), which was moored off the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.

“(The handing over) is in the process of being done,” national police senior detective Daniel Silitonga told AFP.

The US Department of Justice alleges in civil suits that US$4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, which was set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak, in a campaign of fraud and money laundering.

Najib and the fund have denied any wrongdoing.

The suits list US$1.7 billion in assets allegedly bought with the stolen funds, which US officials are seeking to recover.

Those assets include the 90m-long super yacht, which US officials said was purchased by Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, an unofficial adviser to 1MDB.

The ship’s captain and three dozen crew members have been questioned, but no one has been arrested, said Silitonga.

“Regarding the crew, we are still discussing it,” he said, when asked if they would be taken into FBI custody.

Built in 2013, the Netherlands-made yacht has nine bedrooms, including a master suite with a hot tub, a helipad, a gym and spa, and a movie theatre, according to yachtcharterfleet.com.

Low is said to have made key financial decisions linked to 1MDB, although he does not hold any official positions in Malaysia.

He has denied any wrongdoing, and his current whereabouts are unknown.

After the boat seizure, a spokesman for Low said the DoJ had officially delayed efforts to seize assets last year.

A US court is reported to have granted a stay after a request from the authorities, who believe that the civil proceedings can affect the criminal probe they are conducting.

Low’s spokesman said last week that the DoJ has “still not taken any steps to prove that any impropriety has occurred”.

“It is therefore disappointing that rather than reflecting 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.” – AFP, March 8, 2018.