A week after Equanimity seizure, Indonesia cops wrapping up probe

Indonesian police are wrapping up their probe on the Equanimity superyacht linked to businessperson Jho Low one week after the vessel was seized in Benoa, Bali.

Daniel Silitonga, deputy director of economic and special crimes in the republic's Central Police Department, told Malaysiakini that the Indonesian task force has concluded its talks with a team of prosecutors from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to coordinate the handing over of the vessel.

"We are currently wrapping up the technical details related to the investigation," said Silitonga adding they expected the process to be completed soon.

Among others, he said Indonesian police still needed time to verify data obtained from the vessel's Automated Identification System (AIS) as well as the yacht's crew attendance list.

This was in relation to allegations that the yacht's captain had deliberately turned off the AIS to evade authorities from the US Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Polie are also probing why five out of 34 registered crew members of the yacht was not on board at the time it was seized.

The DOJ in its civil assets forfeiture suit had alleged that the superyacht was bought by Jho Low using money laundered from beleaguered Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

Indonesian authorities, however, have insisted that their role was only to locate and seize the vessel following a request from FBI made on Feb 21.

"Do you actually know who the owner of the vessel is?" Silitonga asked, when pressed by Malaysiakini whether Indonesia would hand over the vessel without first contacting the owner.

"The owner is already being tracked down by the FBI since three years ago," he added. The luxury yacht is reportedly owned by a company registered in the Cayman Islands.

Captain still on board

Aside from digital evidence and travel and registration documents seized, police also questioned the vessel's crew members and its captain, South African national Rolf Sieboldt-Berry.

When contacted, Sieboldt-Berry's lawyer Rando Purba confirmed that his client was only questioned once under the republic's anti-money laundering laws.

"The captain remains on board the yacht. Earlier this week, the yacht sailed for about 20 hours to the north (of Bali) and back to discharge 'black water' and take in fresh water," he told Malaysiakini.

Aside from confirming that the crew were employed by a Cayman Islands-registered company, it so far remains unclear whether there would be further probes against them after the vessel has been handed over.

Representatives from Malaysia, including attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali, have dismissed any link between the yacht and 1MDB.

1MDB chairperson Irwan Serigar Abdullah similarly said that the yacht had "nothing to do" with 1MDB and did not belong to the state investment fund.

On Tuesday, Parliament Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia rejected the opposition's motion to urge Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to explain Apandi's statement that the government would not claim the yacht.

Police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun also dismissed any links between the businessperson Low Taek Jho, commonly known as Jho Low, and 1MDB.

The DOJ has claimed that 1MDB-linked Jho Low had used US$250 million (about RM1 billion), allegedly syphoned from the firm, to purchase the yacht.

Since June last year when the civil suit was first filed, 1MDB has maintained claimed that there is no proof to support the allegations made by the DOJ. -Mkini

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