Passports of crime suspects withdrawn

JAKARTA (JP): The directorate general of immigration has withdrawn the passports of two prominent businessmen who have been declared suspects in a graft case and banned from overseas travel.

Head of the sub-directorate of immigration control of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, M. Zaelani, said on Tuesday that Robby Tjahjadi and Johannes Kotjo were both suspects in a graft case.

"They surrendered their passports voluntarily last Friday and Monday following our summonses. We have also summoned several others to surrender their passports," he said in his office.

The passports would only be valid after the travel ban had been lifted, he said, and that if they refused to hand them over the office would declare them invalid and they would not be allowed to be issued with new passports.

Zaelani said his office had received a list of 201 suspects who had been banned from leaving the country by the Attorney General's Office and another list of 29 suspects from the Ministry of Finance.

The passports' withdrawal was a follow up of a ministerial decree issued in July by former minister of justice and human rights Marsillam Simandjuntak to facilitate investigation into the suspects.

Unlike Robby and Johannes who are in Jakarta, many other suspects are staying abroad for various reasons, including health checkups, business, or for academic studies.

At least three graft suspects of the Attorney General's Office are staying overseas and their investigation has been delayed. They include businessmen Sjamsul Nursalim and Prayogo Pangestu, and former minister of trade and industry and former chairman of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Rahardi Ramelan.

Rahardi, who is a suspect in a 1998 corruption case involving Bulog for misappropriating Rp 54 billion (US$6 million) in non- budgetary funds, is reported to have been staying in the United States and is expected to arrive in Jakarta next week.

Director of Immigration Supervision and Control Muhammad Indra said he had given instructions to the immigration office at the airport to withdraw Rahardi's passport as soon as the latter landed in the country.(bby)