Superyacht at heart of Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal is for sale again for a much bigger price tag

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20, 2019, Bloomberg. The luxury yacht once owned by Malaysia’s fugitive financier Low Taek Jho is back on the market. Just six months after the vessel was bought for US$126 million, yachting company Camper & Nicholsons is listing Tranquility for sale again, its website showed, reported the South China Morning Post.

It has an asking price of US$200 million, according to Business Insider, almost 60 per cent more than what casino company Genting Malaysia Bhd paid.

The 91.5-metre boat, formerly known as Equanimity, was seized from Low last year as part of Malaysia’s efforts to recoup about US$4.5 billion allegedly embezzled from troubled state company 1MDB.

The US Justice Department said more than US$250 million in laundered funds were used to buy Equanimity.
The Malaysian government struggled to find buyers before the yacht was bought in April by Genting, at what Low, better known as Jho Low, described as a deal done at a “bargain-basement sale price”.

Low has denied wrongdoing.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, after his stunning victory in last year’s election, has vowed to recover the money allegedly stolen from 1MDB.

Camper & Nicholsons described Tranquility as an “outstanding” superyacht that “benefits from the finest aesthetics and technical standards”.

In a 31-page brochure filled with images of the yacht’s interior, it listed some of the awards the vessel clinched, including as a finalist at the World Superyacht Awards in 2015.

Tranquility, which was rented by makeup mogul Kylie Jenner for her 22nd birthday party, boasts a gym, pool, gallery, beauty salon and helipad. There is still a separate listing for the rental of the vessel from €1.1 million (US$1.23 million) a week.

Additional reporting by The Guardian and Reuters