Eddy Tansil may be in Hong Kong, Oetojo says
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said yesterday there is a great possibility that convicted businessman Eddy Tansil, for whom the authorities have launched a massive manhunt, is in Hong Kong.
"I have received three telephone calls telling me that Eddy Tansil is in Hong Kong now," he told reporters, without identifying the callers.
"My office will analyze and verify the information...but it could be true, because of Tansil's global business network," he said.
Tansil, owner of the Golden Key Group of businesses, has factories in a number of Asian countries, including Hong Kong.
Director of Supervision and Execution of the Immigration Directorate General Rahardi Suroprawiro said his office has contacted the Hong Kong immigration office.
However, he acknowledged that it would be difficult to track Tansil down in Hong Kong if the businessman was using an alias.
Speculation that Tansil is already abroad is supported by the fact that his family has disappeared from its house in the Pecenongan area of Central Jakarta.
The Immigration Attache in Singapore has also failed to trace the whereabouts of Tansil's daughter, Jennifer Tan, who reportedly attended a local primary school.
The Attorney General's Office yesterday revealed that Indriana, Tansil's wife, has been free to travel abroad as the office did not extend a travel ban it had previously slapped on her. Indriana was twice banned from traveling during the initial stages of the fraud case against her husband.
"Her travel ban ended on March 17, and we didn't extend it," Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Yunan Sawidji said yesterday, citing that the court has ruled that Indriana was not involved in Tansil's scam.
Yunan also said that his office has confiscated a number of Tansil's properties, including two factories in Cilegon, West Java, two houses on Jl. Ciranjang and Jl. Wijaya Timur in South Jakarta, and a bank account worth Rp 2.5 billion in a private bank.
"All of the assets are worth an estimated Rp 100 billion (US$42.6 million)," he said, adding that the properties would be taken to compensate the state loss of Rp 500 billion, as ordered by the Supreme Court.
He said his office found out only last week that those properties have been put under other people's names.
Tansil, 42 years old, was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for embezzling Rp 1.3 trillion (US$620 million) from the state- owned Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo). He was also ordered to pay Rp 500 billion in restitution and Rp 30 million in fines.
By changing his appearance and allegedly bribing a number of officials at the Cipinang penitentiary, Tansil managed to escape from the prison on the evening of May 4.
Tansil's escape has irked many people. A number of demonstrations have been staged by various groups, especially students, demanding a swift recapture of Tansil and that the responsible people be punished.
Yesterday about 100 members of the Association of Moslem Students held a noisy protest outside the residence of the chairman of Supreme Advisory Board Sudomo who, during its earlier stages, was implicated in the case. (imn)