Saying he was speaking in his personal capacity, deputy rural development minister Sivarasa Rasiah said the luxury vessel would depreciate in value.

“But the money from the sale of the yacht will go towards paying our 1MDB debt,” said Sivarasa, who spoke on the seized yacht and the corruption case surrounding it at the International Malaysia Law Conference here.

US authorities investigating the 1MDB scandal have accused Low, better known as Jho Low, of using stolen 1MDB funds to purchase the yacht for US$250 million.

The Malaysian government took delivery of the yacht from Indonesia last week amid protests from Low who called the move illegal.

The government said it would eventually sell the Equanimity. Earlier this week, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas said proceeds from the sale of the ship could be kept in a trust account within four to five months.

It is said that it could cost about RM2 million a month to maintain the ship currently berthed in Port Klang.

Meanwhile, a prosecutor with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, S Thanagavelu, said Putrajaya could recover assets in foreign jurisdictions sooner than expected.

“However, we have to put the application through the courts in that country to recover the assets,” he said.

He said Malaysia had appointed a legal firm in Singapore to recover money believed to be stolen from 1MDB, and is in the process of appointing lawyers in Switzerland and the US.

But Thangavelu said it would take time to prosecute suspects for the various crimes as investigators need to gather evidence locally and abroad.

“We have to present credible evidence to prove our case in the court of law,” he added.

Those who leak sensitive 1MDB info face prosecution, warns AG