AGO Arrests Coal Fraud Fugitive Upon Return from Singapore

The Intelligence Task Force for Reform and Innovation (SIRI) of the Attorney General’s Office, together with the Tangerang District Prosecutor’s Office and the Banjarmasin District Prosecutor’s Office, has arrested Richard Arief Muljadi, a fugitive in a coal business fraud case. Richard, who was on the Wanted Persons List (DPO) from the South Kalimantan High Prosecutor’s Office, was detained at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten, upon his return from Singapore on Saturday (20/6).

“At the time of his arrest, the defendant Richard Arief Muljadi was cooperative, so the arrest process proceeded smoothly,” said the Head of the AGO’s Legal Information Centre, Anang Supriatna, in a statement on Sunday (21/6). Anang stated that Richard was charged with a criminal act of coal business fraud that caused losses of up to Rp7 billion. He was charged under Article 378 of the Criminal Code and Article 372 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison.

Anang explained that Richard’s case file had been transferred to the court, but the individual concerned never appeared. As a result, Richard was placed on the Wanted Persons List of the South Kalimantan High Prosecutor’s Office. Following his arrest, Richard was then handed over to the Banjarmasin District Prosecutor’s Office for follow-up action.

Furthermore, Anang said that Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanudin had instructed his staff to monitor and promptly arrest fugitives who are still at large, in order to carry out executions for the sake of legal certainty. The Attorney General also urged all fugitives on the Indonesian Prosecutor’s Office’s DPO to surrender immediately and take responsibility for their actions, as there is no safe hiding place for fugitives.