An Indonesian banker who fled the country a few weeks prior to being sentenced to eight years in jail for embezzling Rp1.27 trillion ($139 million) has been arrested in the US and handed over to Indonesian authorities.
Following a request from the Indonesian government, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) located David Nusa Wijaya alias Ng Tjuen Wie (44), the former boss of now-defunct Bank Umum Sertivia, in Los Angeles on January 13.
A statement from the US Embassy in Jakarta said Wijaya was brought back to Indonesia on Tuesday (17/1/06) by FBI and Indonesian police officials.
“The United States government is pleased to be of assistance to Indonesia in this matter. The US government understands that returning fugitives and stolen assets from abroad in corruption cases is a top law enforcement priority in Indonesia, and looks forward to cooperating with Indonesia in other cases in the future,” said the embassy statement.
After arriving in Jakarta at 12.30pm, Wijaya was taken to National Police headquarters for interrogation. In addition to his corruption conviction, he is likely to now face charges of fleeing justice, although he might be able to avoid this by threatening to name some of the senior officials who allegedly facilitated his escape. He was due to be formally handed over to the Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday afternoon and then taken to East Jakarta’s Cipinang jail to begin serving his sentence.
Legal Charades
Bank Umum Sertivia was one of many domestic banks that received Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI) funds at the height of the regional economic crisis over 1997-98. About 95% of the Rp144.5 trillion ($16.8 billion) pumped into the banks was misused.
On March 11, 2002, West Jakarta District Court sentenced Wijaya to a mere one year in jail for his staggering misuse of BLBI funds. The court argued the light sentence was justified because of Wijaya’s “good behavior” and that it was necessary to give him a chance to raise the Rp1.27 trillion that he had promised to repay to the state.
Wijaya remained free pending appeal, so the Attorney General’s Office imposed a one-year travel ban on him on July 5, 2002.
The tycoon filed his first appeal to Jakarta High Court, but judges there on August 12, 2002, increased his sentence to four years behind bars. He then appealed to the Supreme Court, where judges on July 23, 2003, further increased the sentence to eight years.
But by that time Wijaya’s travel ban had already been expired for more than two weeks and was not extended by the Attorney General’s Office. According to the Immigration Office, Wijaya had left Indonesia shortly after the ban expired.
As the relevant ancillary of the Attorney General’s Office, the West Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office was required to execute the Supreme Court’s verdict by sending Wijaya to jail. But the prosecutor’s office claimed it did not receive an official copy of the verdict until July 28, 2004 – more than one year after the sentence had been handed down and the felon had long flown the coop.
The Supreme Court claimed the extremely late delivery of the verdict was due to a mere “administrative shortcoming” because of personnel changes involving clerks dealing with Wijaya’s case files.
The pathetic charade continued in August 2004, when hapless prosecutors showed up at Wijaya’s house, delivered a letter ordering him to begin serving his sentence, and expressed optimism he had not fled the country.
There was strong speculation that Wijaya had initially fled to Singapore, which does not have an extradition agreement with Indonesia. The two nations last year held a series of talks aimed at forging such a treaty, so that Indonesia can bring crooked tycoons and their ill-gotten wealth back to the country. Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh last week accused Singapore of delaying the pact by insisting that it be signed later this year as part of a general security agreement.
In addition to Singapore and the US, Wijaya was also rumored to have spent time in China, Hong Kong, Macao and Australia while on the run.
National Police chief General Sutanto said Wijaya had first gone to Singapore and later moved to San Francisco, where he had recently faced immigration problems.
''He was given two choices. The first was for him to go through the legal process in the US and then be deported, while the second was to voluntarily undergo the legal process in Indonesia. He eventually chose the latter,'' said Sutanto.
Yudhoyono Pleased
The arrest of Wijaya is a major victory in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s war on corruption. The president on Tuesday hailed the US government’s decision to hand over an Indonesian corruption fugitive and urged other countries to follow suit.
"I am grateful to the friendly country that helped David Nusa Wijaya be brought to justice," he said.
"This is exiting news and I hope the other graft fugitives who fled abroad will do the same by returning the state assets and money to the people," he added.
Deputy Attorney General for intelligence Basrief Arief, who heads an integrated team that was formed to track down Indonesia’s 13 most-wanted graft fugitives, was equally jubilant. "Thanks be to God we arrested David Nusa Wijaya in the US and he arrived in Indonesia at 12.30pm on a Thai Airways flight," he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
Yudhoyono called on the remaining 12 fugitives to immediately give themselves up and return their ill-gotten gain to the state.
"I ask that other friendly countries be cooperative and give their support to facilitate the return of 12 Indonesian citizens who have been found guilty or fled before their cases were settled,” he said.
Fugitives
Following is look at some of Indonesia's top corruptors still at large:
- Eddy Tanzil: Sentenced in 1994 to 20 years in jail for his role in a $620 million corruption case involving state-owned Bank Bapindo. He walked out of the jail in 1995 after allegedly bribing wardens and is now believed to be living in China.
- Bambang Sutrisno: Former vice president of now-defunct Bank Surya, convicted of embezzling Rp1.5 trillion, sentenced to life imprisonment, now apparently living in Singapore.
- Andrian Kiki Ariawan: Former president director of now-defunct Bank Surya, convicted of embezzling Rp1.5 trillion, sentenced to life imprisonment, now apparently living in Singapore.
- Samadikun Hartono: Former president director of now-defunct Bank Modern, convicted of embezzling Rp169 billion, sentenced to four years in jail, whereabouts unknown.
- Sudjiono Timan: Former president director of state-owned investment company PT Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia, sentenced to 15 years in jail in connection with a Rp1.1 trillion corruption case involving the channeling of state funds to former dictator Suharto’s cronies. Believed to be in Singapore.
- Maria Pauline Lumowa: Boss of PT Gramarindo Mega Indonesia and suspected mastermind of the embezzlement of Rp1.7 trillion from state-owned Bank Negara Indonesia through the issuance of allegedly fictitious letters of credit over December 2002 to July 2003. She fled to Singapore before trial.
- Irawan Salim: Former president director of Bank Global, suspected of involvement in the issuance of fictitious loans and bonds worth at least Rp830 billion. Fled Indonesia in December 2004, just days before his bank was closed. Rumored to have gone to Singapore, Canada or Europe.
Source: Paras Indonesia - www.laksamana.net
