Jakarta. Hendry Lie, the founder of budget airline Sriwijaya Air, was arrested at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang on Monday evening upon his return from Singapore.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has accused Hendry of involvement in a fraudulent tin mining scheme that allegedly occurred between 2015 and 2022.

Hendry departed for Singapore on March 24, shortly after being questioned by prosecutors about his alleged role in illegal tin mining and trading activities involving assets of state-owned tin miner Timah, according to Abdul Qohar, the AGO’s Director of Corruption Investigation.

“Despite claiming he needed medical treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, Hendry did not promptly return to Indonesia,” Abdul said early on Tuesday. “He attempted to return secretly on Monday evening, apparently in an effort to avoid arrest.”

In response to the investigation, the Indonesian immigration office has revoked Hendry’s passport, which is set to expire on November 27.

“He could not renew his passport because the Immigration Office informed the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore about his ongoing legal case,” Abdul added.

Prosecutors believe Hendry returned to Indonesia in an attempt to renew his travel documents.

As part of their investigation, authorities have seized Hendry’s assets, including a luxury villa in Bali situated on 1,800 square meters of land and valued at around Rp 20 billion ($1.3 million), Abdul said.

AGO documents reveal that Hendry is the beneficial owner of Tinindo Inter Nusa (PT TIN), a company accused of providing smelting equipment to process tin ore mined illegally from Timah’s properties.

So far, prosecutors have named over 20 suspects in connection with the case. Among them are Bambang Gatot Ariyono, the former Director General of Minerals and Mining at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, and businessman Harvey Moeis, who is married to actress Sandra Dewi. 

The scandal revolves around illegal tin mining operations on Timah’s land from 2015 to 2022, resulting in financial losses estimated at Rp 300 trillion ($19 billion) and severe environmental damage, according to the AGO.

The Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) detailed the extent of the damage, citing Rp 271.1 trillion in environmental harm, Rp 26.5 trillion in lost potential revenue for Timah, and an additional Rp 2.3 trillion in losses related to smelting costs.

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