Eddy Tansil may be in Hong Kong, Oetojo says

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)