KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Superyacht Equanimity, supposedly purchased with funds misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), will be sold for no less than US$130 million (RM543 million), according to a lawyer representing the government.

The Star reported lawyer S. Sitpah saying the floor value was set following an appraisal by an independent surveying and naval architect firm based in the UK, Winterbothams Limited.

She was also reported saying the government had obtained a court order permitting the second phase of the judicial sale, which would be carried out through private negotiations.

"Now there is a guide price for potential buyers,” Sitpah was quoted saying.

In the report, Sitpah explained that the sale of Equanimity should be completed by March 31 next year, after its case management at the Admiralty Court before Judicial Commissioner Khadijah Idris here earlier today.

The yacht is said to have been bought by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, otherwise known as Jho Low, with money supposedly embezzled from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.

Equanimity, which comes with a Turkish bath, helicopter landing pad and a history of celebrity-studded glitzy parties, went on auction in October as part of the government’s asset recovery measures, after Indonesian authorities returned it to Malaysia in August.

The same court that granted the sale in October declared the yacht rightfully belonged to the Malaysian government, through two 1MDB subsidiaries; 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited and 1MDB Global Investment Limited.

This was after its registered owners, one of which is supposedly Low, failed to show up in court to claim the vessel following a court order.

Following the announcement of rightful custody, the government then sought to have the sale of the yacht conducted via public tender or private treaty by the sheriff.

They had sought for the sale of the ship be transacted either in Ringgit, US Dollars, or Euros, with the proceeds paid to the court and deposited into a local bank account approved by the Accountant General.