KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — The federal government spent RM15.5 million to maintain super yacht Equanimity from the time it was seized until Genting Malaysia Berhad bought it at an auction last month, according to Attorney General (AG) Tommy Thomas.

However, the top government lawyer said RM15.5 million is not the "final figure” but just the sum for services rendered for the past nine months.

"If the arrest had been undertaken anywhere else in the world, the cost would have been two to three times more. Further, no commission is also payable to the broker because it is a directly negotiated sale,” he said in a statement.

Thomas said the government spent RM407,000 on berthing charges between August and November last year when the super yatch was docked at the Boustead Cruise Centre in Port Klang before being moved to the naval base in Langkawi.

He added that the Royal Malaysian Navy allowed the Equanimity to berth at its naval base without any charge from November 2018 until her delivery to Genting on April 25.

A total of RM12.7 million was spent on operational costs in maintaining the superyacht which include agency fees for local agents, management fees, salaries of the professional crew, transportation for the crew, protection and indemnity insurance, hull and machinery insurance, supplies, parts, equipment and services rendered for necessary repair and maintenance works carried out on the Equanimity.

About RM400,000 was spent to engage a reputable valuer and appraiser of international standing, to appraise the value of the vessel and equipment belonging to it.

Another RM1.6 million was spent in legal fees for the legal firm Messrs Joseph & Partners to represent the Malaysian government and 1MDB while RM360,000 went to Ong Chee Kwan as counsel fee, and RM40,000 in obtaining foreign legal advice to another law firm Messrs Holman Fenwick Willan on the process to deregister and re-register a vessel in red ensign choice of jurisdictions.

"For all these payments incurred in maintaining and preserving the Equanimity under arrest, there were multilayer screening and approval processes,” Thomas said.

He said the legal team and international financial services firm PwC, which assisted the government in managing the operational affairs of 1MDB, served as the first filtering layer.

"Once approved, the invoices were submitted to my office for second screening, and thereafter by the sheriff of the Admiralty Court. It was only after the invoices were cleared by the three levels that they were submitted to the board of directors of 1MDB for payment approval,” the AG said.

Last month, Thomas announced on behalf of the Malaysian government that Equanimity would be sold at US$126 million (RM514 million) to highest bidder Genting or its special purpose vehicle.

In today’s statement, Thomas stated that the purchase price of the super yacht would be kept by the stakeholder until the expiry of the 90-day period, during which the legal team would move the court for leave to gazette the receipt of payment for taxation of costs and determination of priorities for payment out of the proceeds.

"It is only after these Orders of Court that the monies will be credited into a segregated 1MDB asset recovery account, that was set up solely to recover 1MDB assets to pay off 1MDB debt,” he said.

The super yacht, which the government said was bought by wanted Penangite Low Taek Jho with 1MDB money, is now known as Tranquillity.