Jakarta. Indonesia plans to file an appeal at the French court against the seizure of its diplomatic assets over a case involving the Liechtenstein-based technology company Navayo International AG.

It all started when the Defense Ministry signed a contract with Navayo for a satellite project in 2016. After the project stalled, Navayo launched a lawsuit against the ministry at an arbitration court in Singapore over the unpaid bills worth $16 million. They ruled in favor of Navayo, and the company’s legal team demanded Indonesia pay about $24.1 million no later than Nov. 22, 2024. The award would swell by $2,568 each day after the deadline until the award gets paid off.

The Indonesian government decided to put off paying the award after it sniffed out fraud in Navayo’s work. The company later took the case to a French court requesting the latter to snatch apartments where Indonesian diplomats lived in Paris and It was approved. As the Navayo fiasco worsens, senior legal affairs minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra recently tried to convince Paris to cancel the seizure. During a recent trip to the country, Yusril tried to make a case that the seizure was uncalled for when he met French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin.

“The court has given a chance for the Indonesian government to file an appeal. The court hearing is slated for May. This is a chance for us to make an objection ... so the court can consider the facts on the ground and withdraw the decision,” Yusril said in a recent video statement following his bilateral talks with Darmanin.

The minister said that Indonesia respected the French court’s ruling. But at the same time, Indonesia finds it disappointing that the court made the decision without hearing Jakarta’s side -- something that Yusril called “a violation of international court practice”. Yusril then brought up how diplomatic assets, including the envoys’ properties, should have been immune from seizures as laid down in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

“If the French court grants the request, this could be a bad precedent for the rest of the world as it shows diplomatic assets are seizable based on the decision of the court of the country concerned,” Yusril said.

He revealed that Indonesia had hired an “experienced French lawyer” to represent them.

Indonesia is also trying to hunt down Navayo to be tried for fraud. The country’s audits showed that Navayo had only done Rp 1.9 billion ($114,531) worth of work, which only covered a tiny fraction of the $16 million bill, according to Yusril. Indonesia intends to request an Interpol red notice for Navayo.

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