State Seizes Assets of Legendary Fugitive Eddy Tansil Worth Rp 51.6 Billion

Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) totalling Rp 1.029 trillion was handed over from the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Indonesia to Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa. Included in this amount are assets worth Rp 51.6 billion belonging to convicted corruption fugitive Eddy Tansil, who has been on the run since 1996.

“On this occasion, we can also report that the Asset Recovery Centre (PPA) has successfully traced assets in the name of convict Eddy Tansil in the form of money totalling Rp 51,682,537,000,” said Head of the Attorney General’s Office PPA, Kuntadi, during a speech at the PPA Office in South Jakarta on Monday.

Minister Purbaya immediately praised the Attorney General’s Office for successfully tracing Eddy Tansil’s assets. He described the recovery as an extraordinary achievement. “I was surprised earlier, the Eddy Tansil case, which has long been in the public memory, the money could still be recovered. I think this is an extraordinary achievement, sir, because it has been pursued for decades,” said Purbaya.

Purbaya stated that the Eddy Tansil case serves as a reminder that the past must not be left unresolved. He said anyone who causes state losses must be pursued so that the state’s rights are not lost.

Eddy Tansil is a corruption convict from the New Order era linked to the looting of Bank Bapindo. Eddy was found guilty of embezzling USD 565 million through Bank Bapindo credit facilities. He carried out the crime through his company, the Golden Key Group. In 1994, the Central Jakarta District Court handed down a guilty verdict against Eddy Tansil, which was upheld at the cassation level in 1995.

Eddy Tansil was sentenced to 20 years in prison and a fine of Rp 30 million. He was also ordered to pay restitution of Rp 500 billion and compensate the state for losses of Rp 1.3 trillion. After being convicted, he was imprisoned at Cipinang Penitentiary. On 4 May 1996, Eddy Tansil escaped from Cipinang prison and has been missing ever since. He is suspected of escaping with the help of prison officers in a pre-planned operation.

In 2013, the Attorney General’s Office stated it had received information that Eddy Tansil was in China, a lead they had been following since 2011. “So indeed, since 2011 there has been information that the person concerned is in China. Therefore, our country, Indonesia, through the central authority, in this case the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, has followed up by requesting his extradition from that country,” said then-Deputy Attorney General Andhi Nirwanto on Friday, 27 December 2013. Since then, Eddy Tansil’s trail has gone cold, and his whereabouts remain a mystery.

Although Eddy Tansil has not been captured, the Attorney General’s Office has continued to process a number of his assets in Indonesia. His house and several other assets have been auctioned off since 2021.