Jho Low's Seized $250 Million Yacht Can Sail to U.S., Judge Says

(Bloomberg) -- The $250 million yacht the Justice Department claims Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho bought with stolen government funds can be sailed from Indonesia to the U.S., a judge said.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer in Los Angeles denied the request by the trusts that hold title to the "Equanimity" to keep it anchored in Bali while they're challenging the 300-foot vessel's seizure.

The judge said she had some concern about the trusts' allegation that the U.S. plans to understaff the yacht on its trip to U.S. waters and ordered the government to confer with the captain or senior officer of the yacht to determine the necessary crew.

After the Justice Department filed its forfeiture lawsuit against the yacht last year, Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, instructed its crew to keep it away from countries such as Singapore and Australia. He said those governments were likely to seize the vessel, and urged the crew to instead stick to “safe” places such as Cambodia and Vietnam, according to a court filing by the U.S.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Wollman at ewollman@bloomberg.net, Peter Blumberg, Paul Cox

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