Relatives set out to check on 'Hendra'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Relatives of Hendra Rahardja will leave Hong
\nKong for Australia this weekend to verify whether a man detained
\nin a Sydney jail is their relative, a source close to the family
\nsaid on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"Family members will depart from Hong Kong, probably the day
\nafter tomorrow, to Sydney, primarily to check the identity of the
\narrested man, who so far has been identified as Hendra Rahardja,\"
\nAlamsyah Hanafiah, a former lawyer to Hendra, told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
He said Hendra's relatives had also told him that if his
\nidentity was confirmed, they would check to see whether or not
\nHendra required the assistance of Indonesian lawyers.<\/p>\n
As reported earlier, Hendra -- for two years one of
\nIndonesia's most wanted white-collar criminal suspects -- was
\nspotted and arrested on June 1 by immigration officers at
\nKingsford-Smith International Airport in Sydney.<\/p>\n
Hendra allegedly fled Indonesia in 1997 to avoid
\naccountability, following liquidation of his two banks: Bank
\nHarapan Sentosa and Bank Guna International.<\/p>\n
But police have said Hendra fled with the money of his
\ndepositors, before the government had a chance to liquidate his
\nbank.<\/p>\n
Hendra was one of 24 senior executives from private banks in
\nIndonesia named last August by police in an investigation of
\nfailed private banks for breaking legal lending limits and
\naccounting rules.<\/p>\n
The offense carries a maximum penalty of six years in jail and
\na Rp 6 billion rupiah (US$845,000) fine.<\/p>\n
Together with most of his family, Hendra allegedly fled the
\ncountry to an unknown destination, forcing Indonesian Police to
\nrequest assistance from Interpol branches all over the world to
\ntrace the whereabouts of the suspected criminal.<\/p>\n
Last Thursday, Alamsyah quoted Hendra's families as telling
\nhim the man apprehended by Australian Federal Police was not
\ntheir relative.<\/p>\n
\"They (his family) told me there had been no arrest, and that
\nHendra was still abroad.\"<\/p>\n
Confirmation<\/p>\n
The remarks, however, were strongly denied by Australian and
\nIndonesian authorities.<\/p>\n
Confirming the arrest and identity of Hendra, Australian
\nFederal Police spokesman Stephen Simpson told Reuters on Saturday
\nHendra was detained at the airport where he was attempting to
\nboard a flight to Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Indonesian police quoted their Australian counterparts as
\nsaying earlier that Hendra was arrested shortly after his arrival
\nfrom Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
DPA reported over the weekend that Hendra had said from the
\nSydney jail that he would fight any extradition attempts.<\/p>\n
Simpson said Hendra, who is waiting on an extradition hearing,
\ndid not apply for bail when he appeared in a Sydney local court
\non June 2.<\/p>\n
A procedural hearing, which took place at the court on
\nWednesday, failed to decide whether Hendra would be extradited,
\ndue to the absence of a written request from Indonesian
\nauthorities, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Judge Allan Moore adjourned the hearing to July 16, in the
\nexpectation Jakarta would soon submit the appeal.<\/p>\n
According to local law, Australia has the right to detain
\nHendra for a maximum period of 45 days, from the date of his
\narrest.<\/p>\n
Complicated<\/p>\n
From Jakarta, Brig. Gen. Wayan Ardjana, secretary of
\nInterpol's national central bureau, confirmed the absence of the
\nofficial request for Hendra's extradition from Australia, saying
\n\"police are still working on it before being approved by the
\nminister of justice\".<\/p>\n
\"It's not an easy job. It's very complicated and we have to be
\nvery careful in carrying it out,\" Wayan said.<\/p>\n
Should the official letter be approved by the minister, the
\nletter would be handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
\nwhich would in turn submit the application to the Australian
\nEmbassy here.<\/p>\n
\"We hope the official letter of request for extradition will
\nbe completed sometime next week,\" the officer said.<\/p>\n
Hendra reportedly owned PT Yamaha Motor Indonesia, Gajah Mada
\nPlaza office and shopping center, as well as other companies. He
\nwas also listed as an alleged insolvent debtor, involving some Rp
\n8.6 billion, by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.<\/p>\n
In 1996, his younger brother, Eddy Tansil, bribed his way out
\nof the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta, where he was
\nserving 20 years for defrauding state-owned Bank Pembangunan
\nIndonesia (Bapindo) of Rp 1.3 trillion through his PT Golden Key
\npetrochemical company.(bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/relatives-set-out-to-check-on-hendra-1447893297",
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