KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs to establish if the jet belonging to fugitive Low Taek Jho was bought using money stolen from Malaysia.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government needs to establish if it was indeed bought with “stolen money”.
“We will try to get the jet. We need to establish if the jet was bought with stolen money. If he did steal the money (to buy the jet) then the jet belongs to Malaysia. Same with the yacht,” he told reporters after the launch of Cardiac Vascular Sentral yesterday.
When asked if there was a time frame to recover the jet, he said it was not important. “Time frame is not important. It’s important they (other than the government ) cannot take it back,” he added.
The private jet, along with the Equanimity superyacht, is part of assets that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to seize over its probe into a global conspiracy to launder funds related to 1MDB.
After the US$250 million (RM1 billion) superyacht, Equanimity was handed over to Malaysia by Indonesian authorities following a request by Mahathir, he said Jho Low’s private jet worth US$35 million (RM143 million) should be brought to Malaysia too.
The Bombardier Global 5000 jet, was impounded by Singapore in February last year, it is part of some US$1 billion (RM4 billion) in assets allegedly acquired with funds misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Attorney General Tommy Thomas had said that the sale of the yacht is permitted under admiralty law, the body of law that covers ships and the sea.
Should someone claim ownership of the boat after the sale, the person could sue for the money paid by the buyer.
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