Indonesia faces challenge to seizure of yacht wanted by US

Indonesia's seizure of a luxury yacht wanted as part of a U.S. probe into the alleged multibillion-dollar theft of funds from a Malaysian state investment company is being challenged by the vessel's owner, police said Monday.

FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2018, file photo. Indonesian police officers stand guard as luxury yacht Equanimity is seen in the background off Bali island, Indonesia.(AP Photo/Yoan Ari, File)

National police deputy director of economic crimes Daniel Silitonga said police haven't handed the yacht over to the U.S. since its Feb. 28 seizure because they're waiting for a court hearing after lawyers for the owner of the Cayman Islands-registered Equanimity began a legal challenge.

"Until now we are still awaiting the summons for a hearing," he said. "We are facing some legal issues that have to be resolved first."

The Equanimity, worth $250 million, is among assets the U.S. Department of Justice alleges were bought by Malaysian national Jho Low using money stolen from 1MBD, the Malaysian fund, and laundered through Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the U.S.

Indonesian police seized the 92-meter (300-foot) yacht off Bali in a joint operation with the FBI.

Silitonga said he didn't yet know the basis of the lawsuit.

A spokesman for Low told Malaysian media in early March that "rather than reflecting on the deeply flawed and politically-motivated allegations, the DoJ is continuing with its pattern of global overreach — all based on entirely unsupported claims of wrongdoing."

The Department of Justic filed a civil case in June seeking recovery of assets worth several hundred million dollars. Overall, it says more than $4.5 billion was stolen between 2009 and 2014 from 1MBD, which was set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to promote economic development.

Low, an associate of Najib, had no formal role at the fund but considerable influence over it, according to the U.S. court documents.

Equanimity's lavish amenities include a helicopter landing pad, plunge pool, gymnasium and a cinema. It was built in 2014 by Netherlands yacht manufacturer Oceano, which received detailed instructions from Low about its outfitting, according to the civil case documents.

Najib was embroiled in the scandal when it emerged that some $700 million had passed through his personal bank accounts. He denied any wrongdoing and said the money was a political donation from the Saudi royal family, which was later returned.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.

While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions during his confinement, the intelligence community has found “no smoking gun” that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death — which came soon before the Russian president's reelection — or directly ordered it, according to the official.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

Soon after Navalny’s death, U.S. President Joe Biden said Putin was ultimately responsible but did not accuse the Russian president of directly ordering it.

At the time, Biden said the U.S. did not know exactly what had happened to Navalny but that “there is no doubt” that his death “was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.”

Navalny, 47, Russia’s best-known opposition politician and Putin’s most persistent foe, died Feb. 16 in a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that he rejected as politically motivated.

He had been behind bars since January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

Russian officials have said only that Navalny died of natural causes and have vehemently denied involvement both in the poisoning and in his death.

In March, a month after Navalny’s death, Putin won a landslide reelection for a fifth term, an outcome that was never in doubt.

The Wall Street Journal first reported about the U.S. intelligence determination.

FILE - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking during his interview to the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 18, 2017. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn't order the death of Navalny, the imprisoned opposition leader, in February of 2024. An official says the U.S. intelligence community has found "no smoking gun" that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death or directly ordered it. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)