The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has not shown any “tangible proof” that Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, is the owner of a yacht seized in Indonesia, said Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.
“Until today, apart from bare allegations contained in the DoJ civil lawsuit, which has been put on hold since August last year, the DoJ has not shown any tangible proof that Low is the actual owner of the yacht or that it was purchased with funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
“Furthermore, the DoJ has yet to prove any of its allegations in a court of law, despite nearly two years passing since its sensationalised press conference of July 2016,” said the Communications and Multimedia Minister in his blog Thursday (March 1).
He added that the Opposition, however, has taken the opportunity to “mislead” Malaysians by using “unverified and unproven” allegations about the yacht Equanimity which was seized in Bali by Indonesian authorities.
Silly Salleh clearly thinks Malaysians are stupid enough to believe this!
Why does he imagine that Jho Low has been jumping up and down and issuing statements complaining about the seizure – yelling like a screaming toddler at the confiscation of an illicit toy?
Would Jho Low have emerged from months of purdah to express outrage over “global over-reach” and the general unfairness of removing the boat, if it wasn’t his?
And, far from failing to prove the ownership and purchase, the DOJ have to the contrary detailed each and every payment made by Jho to purchase the vessel, tracing the money through the global banking system right back to 1MDB. It’s all in the court documents, if Salleh is up to reading them…. he is clearly banking on Malaysians not being able to!
There is one point where the minister may be right of course. The ultimate owner is clearly not Jho Low, but his ‘Big Boss’ – MO1 and the wife in charge…… or maybe the correct tense is WAS the owner, since it is now a seized asset.