Malaysian court approves Burgess as ‘Equanimity’ superyacht selling agent
Brokerage Burgess Yachts has been approved by a Malaysian court as the selling agent for the seized superyacht Equanimity.
The superyacht was seized by the Indonesian government in February under a request from the US authorities.
Equanimity is at the centre of an alleged international scandal in which funds were misappropriated over some months from the Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The superyacht arrived in Malaysia on 7th August and is being held at Port Klang.
Speaking after the hearing to Malaysia’s The Star Online, lawyer Sitpah Selvaratnam, who is representing 1MDB said: “There is no published asking price or reserve price for the yacht at this point in time.
“The High Court may decline even the highest bid if it falls below the formal court appraised value of the yacht
“There will be a period of maybe one month that she will be open and the courts will be receiving bids up to maybe early December.
“We hope the bids we get will be accepted by the court so that we can conclude the sale and she (Equanimity) leaves the waters by the end of December.”
On its website, Burgess stated: “The judicial sales process will follow strict guidelines, but essentially shall be by the submission of sealed bids by qualified potential buyers, to be opened by the Sheriff of the High Court of Malaya in November/December 2018.
“We are advised that in accordance with Admiralty law, the judicial sale will provide the buyer with an internationally recognised ownership title free of mortgage, attachment and all encumbrances.”
It has also been reported that Winterbothams have been appointed as the court appraiser. It has not disclosed its valuation and attempts to contact the company have been unsuccessful.
