Tansil's whereabouts still unknown: Oetojo

Tansil's whereabouts still unknown: Oetojo

JAKARTA (JP): The authorities are still in the dark as to the
whereabouts of businessman Eddy Tansil, who escaped in May from
the Cipinang penitentiary, where he was serving term for a US$620
million fraud.

Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman yesterday described how
"data, information and clues" compiled by the authorities over
the past four months have not enabled them to determine where
Tansil is hiding.

"We still can't draw any conclusion on Tansil's whereabouts,"
said Oetojo after meeting with President Soeharto at the Merdeka
Palace yesterday.

He explained that the government has launched an intensive
manhunt in four Asian countries, in the United States and in
Canada. He did not specify the Asian countries, but three of them
are believed to be China, Hongkong and Singapore.

The minister said the government will continue its hunt for
Tansil, but has not set any deadline.

"During the first three months, chasing Tansil proved to be
very difficult," he said. He added that the government has not
placed a big sum at the officials' disposal for the hunt. He did
not elaborate.

Tansil walked out of the Cipinang prison reportedly with the
help of the prison's security officials. The jailbreak occurred
just a month after Oetojo checked on the prison's security
system, following press reports that Tansil enjoyed special
treatment.

Tansil, owner of the Golden Key Group of businesses, received
a 20-year prison sentence for defrauding Bank Pembangunan
Indonesia (Bapindo) of $620 million in 1994. It has been recorded
as the largest fraud in Indonesian banking history.

Tansil was thought to have had carefully planned his escape.
Besides changing his hairstyle and appearance, there was an
unconfirmed report that his wife had gone to Shanghai days before
the escape.

Oetojo met Soeharto in order to report the massive legal
reform campaign that the ministry has recently launched. The
ministry, he said, is evaluating 350 outdated laws introduced
during the Dutch colonization.

He also reported the transfer of duty of 79 senior, middle and
lower level officials. (imn)