Gather a million of your closest friends together with a few bucks to spare: Today is the final day where you can bid to own your own piece of alleged 1MDB infamy by doubling down on the floating monstrosity, Equanimity.
Yes, the boat that fugitive financier Jho Low takes great pains to point out is not his, but have you seen her and do you know where she is and can she call me, is poised to be sold off to the highest bidder, and today is last call.
The US$250 million superyacht boasts the kind of amenities rarely seen outside of oligarch circles: A Turkish bath, a helipad, and the kind of celeb stories that would make you blush if deck chairs could talk. Would they say “Miranda Kerr,” or “Jamie Foxx”?
Yesterday, a lawyer tasked with handling the ship’s auction by the Attorney General’s Office informed The Malaysian Insight that it was indeed the last auction day, and would-be buyers will have to throw down a US$1 million (RM4.2 million) deposit to stand a chance at being the captain of this tasteless behemoth.
Once all bids are in, a sheriff of the High Court of Malaysia will then open the sealed documents, and reveal the ship’s new owner.
Cue, Tyra Banks as host of America’s Next Top Model: Several beautiful buyers stand before me, but I only have one photo in my hands.
No date of when the actual handover will take place has been given, with the lawyer adding that only the sheriff will know how many bids were made on the yacht. In addition to this information, the sheriff is also privy to the boat’s appraisal note, the court sanctioned value of the yacht, and the minimum spend expect in its eventual sale.
If bids fall below this expected amount, the government may seek another option.
Investigators have alleged that Jho, currently missing in action from US, Malaysian and Interpol authorities, bought the yacht in 2014 using funds they say were siphoned from 1MDB-linked transactions. If you’re into this kind of 1MDB-related stuff, you may also find it amusing that Low is alleged to have bought the yacht well after investigators began to notice that a lot of money seemed to be missing. Lol.
Malaysian government officials are keen to offload the yacht, as its monthly maintenance fees have set the government back RM3.5 million (US$835,000) since it was seized and handed over in August of this year.
