Indonesia Yacth Seized — A luxury yacht named "Equanimity" is seen in the Benoa harbor in Bali, Indonesia, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. Indonesia has seized the 92 meter (300 foot) luxury yacht on the tourist island of Bali that is wanted by U.S. authorities as part of a probe in an alleged multibillion-solar corruption scandal at the Malaysia state investment fund 1MBD. (AP Photo/Ambros Boli Berani)

Jho Low’s former superyacht available for charter at S$1.7 million a week

A sky-high bounty in one of the world’s largest rip-off, the US$250 million (S$340.1 million) super-yacht dubbed as Equanimity, is now available for charter with a new name –Tranquility. This following its seizure and subsequent fire sale to one of Malaysia’s well-heeled.

According to Camper & Nicholsons, its agent, the 91.5-metre yacht, presently berthed at Le Vieux Port at Cannes on the French Riviera, can be had for US$1.25 million a week, excluding fuel and extra charges. The vessel is owned by Orient Peace, the Cayman Islands-registered unit of Genting Group, one of Malaysia’s biggest cluster of businesses which ranged from casinos, cruises to plantations and power plants.

Its previous owner Low Taek Jho, more popularly known as Jho Low, has a taste for luxury and lavish parties and the fodder of entertainment headlines from Hong Kong to Hollywood. Low is a person of interest in a global money laundering investigation related to the alleged mishandling of US$4.5 billion from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

“Everything you can think of is found there, and many things that you don’t think about is also there,” Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in August 2018 during a visit to the yacht that his government had impounded from Low. “It is not really a yacht, but a hug ship.”

Launched in 2014 by Dutch builder Oceano , the vessel boasts of a “beach club” with folding platforms at the stern and the sides that drop down to the water, an on-board gymnasium, a massage room, a sauna and a 200-square foot plunge pool. A circular jacuzzi with a clear bottom is on the upper deck, visible from the deck below.

A grand piano sits in the main saloon, embellished with bamboo, marble, gold leaf and wenge wood, that originate from endangered tree species. The interior decoration was done by Andrew Winch Designs of the UK, known for designing the private jets, superyachts and mansions of the world’s billionaires.

Stirred by two 4,828 horsepower engines giving it a range of nearly 5,000 nautical miles, Tranquility arrived at the French Riviera on July 1 from Singapore via Sri Lanka. Maintenance cost on the yacht is projected at 2 million ringgit (S$656,700) a month, Dr Mahathir said last year.

Allegations of diversion of funds

US court documents maintained that 1MDB officials diverted over US$850 million to private entities incorporated in the Seychelles and BVI, and that the funds were used to buy Equanimity for “Low’s personal benefit.”

In February of 2018, the yacht was captured in Bali by Indonesian authorities on behalf of the US government. An Indonesian court subsequently ruled against the seizure, but would not permit the yacht to leave Bali territory. In July, after a June visit from newly elected Mahathir, Indonesian authorities returned the yacht to Malaysia. Equanimity was moored in a Langkawi marina for sale, where it found no takers for the Malaysian government’s minimum asking price of US$130 million.

On April 3, 2019, the yacht was finally sold to Genting for a discounted US$126 million in a private deal.

“The bargain-basement sale price accepted by the Mahathir Government for the yacht Equanimity is the final chapter in yet another tale of the regime’s incompetence and disregard for the rule of law,” Low said on the same day through his publicist.

Genting, chaired by billionaire Lim Kok Thay, owns resorts and plantations in Malaysia and is one of two casino operators in Singapore. Through its subsidiary Genting Hong Kong, Mr Lim owns three cruise lines and the Italian yacht builder Wider. Genting Hong Kong also owns the German shipyard Lloyd Werft, which specialises in building large yachts and ships.

The purchase of the superyacht would allow Genting “to differentiate itself from its competitors and provide [Genting Malaysia] with a unique and competitive edge for its premium customers business,” the company said.

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