Jakarta. Justice Minister Supratman Andi Agtas said Tuesday that Indonesia still has a long way to go until it can bring back graft fugitive Paulus Tannos from Singapore.

Indonesia has been pursuing Tannos’ extradition, a process that will enable the businessman to face criminal charges in Jakarta. Tannos has been on the anti-graft commission KPK’s wanted list since October 2021 after being implicated in a major graft scandal involving Indonesia’s electronic ID card megaproject that took place a decade earlier. Tannos has been living in Singapore since 2017, before being named a suspect two years later. Indonesia has been pursuing Tannos’ extradition so the businessman can face criminal charges in Jakarta. 

The Singaporean anti-corruption agency arrested Tannos early this year at Jakarta’s request for a provisional arrest to prevent him from fleeing the country. According to Supratman, the Singaporean court has rejected Tannos’ request for bail. The minister did not say why the bail application was denied. Tannos, also known as Thian Po Tjhin, currently remains in custody.

“The Singaporean authorities have informed us that their court had denied PT’s bail request. We now have to wait, and it is still a long process ahead,”  Supratman told reporters in Jakarta, referring to Tannos by his initials. 

A committal hearing on Tannos’ extradition is set to take place on June 23-25. This process will determine whether Tannos should be extradited to Indonesia to face charges. 

“If our extradition request gets accepted, it’s still possible for both sides [be it Tannos or Indonesia] can still file an appeal once. PT to this day has yet to express willingness to be extradited,” Supratman said.

Tannos’ fate came under the spotlight once again following President Prabowo Subianto’s first-ever state visit to the close neighbor. Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said at the time that he was pleased to see that the bilateral extradition treaty had now already gone into effect.

“For the extradition treaty, the first case is now before the Singaporean court. This would not have been possible without the close collaboration between our legal and law enforcement agencies,” Wong told a joint press conference, alluding to Tannos’ case.

Supratman claimed that the two leaders did not discuss Tannos’ case in their four-eye meeting. 

Indonesia’s extradition treaty with Singapore came into force in March 2024.

Tannos’ electronic ID case caused state losses of approximately Rp 2.3 trillion (almost $141 million). 

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