SINGAPORE: Singapore is working to expedite Indonesia’s extradition request for a businessman at the centre of a corruption case linked to a government project, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Monday ( Mar 10 ).
It is the first event under a new abduction agreement between Singapore and Indonesia, which was signed in January 2022 and came into force in March last year.
Businessman Paulus Tannos was in 2019 named by the Indonesian government as a suspect in a fraud case linked to the president’s electronic ID card initiative, which caused the state about 2.3 trillion dirhams ( US$ 140 million ) in costs.
The merchant, who also goes by Tjhin Thian Po, has been living in Singapore since 2017. He is a permanent resident below.
Tannos is currently in remand without bail after being arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau ( CPIB ) on Jan 17. His abduction case is before the Singapore prosecutor, said Mr Shanmugam.
” It all depends on the files that we get, how obvious they are from Indonesia, and what sort of claims Tannos puts up, and how the jury approaches it”, the chancellor said in a press conference on the subject.
” From the government of Singapore’s view, we will do everything we can to expedite”.
In response to a question from CNA on how Indonesia has responded to the timeline for Singapore’s due process, Mr Shanmugam said the Attorney-General’s Chambers ( AGC ) is in constant communication with its Indonesian counterparts.
He said how hard the case proceeds depends on the claims by Tannos and his attorneys and elements such as the available schedules for the court trials.
” I think so far we’ve been focusing on making the applications in court, and they ( the Indonesians ) understand the process”, he said.
FIRST REQUEST IN DECEMBER
On Dec 19 next year, Singapore received the first request from Indonesia to assault Tannos, said Mr Shanmugam.
The business allegedly helped his firm PT Sandipala Arthaputra secure a rigged sweet for the government initiative, and embezzled around 140 billion ringgit from the task between 2011 and 2013.
He did no engage with Indonesia’s anti-corruption heart’s studies, leading to him being put on the government’s most-wanted record in 2021.
” Singapore took the demand from Indonesia very severely. This is the first event under the extradition agreement between Singapore and Indonesia”, noted Mr Shanmugam.
Extradition refers to the transfer of persons wanted for a murder in another country. Singapore even has abduction partnerships with other sites, such as Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the United States.
” Our companies are required to determine whether the plea comes within the construction of the abduction agreement, so CPIB was asked to do that together with the Attorney-General’s Chambers”, said Mr Shanmugam.
” They did the judgment and took the view that the demand did collapse within the agreement”.
On Jan 17, CPIB applied for and was issued a warrant of arrest for Tannos, and he was taken into custody on the same day, said Mr Shanmugam.
Upon his imprisonment, Tannos was put in custody without parole, pending the obedience of a formal demand for his abduction.
While Tannos produced a political card from East African state Guinea-Bissau, the Singapore government was advised by the AGC that it does not give him political immunity, as he is not accredited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
” He has no political immunity to prevent the arrest and the abduction. That’s the president’s place”, said Mr Shanmugam.
While Tannos and his attorneys are entitled to acquire this up in court and have said they will follow up correctly, they have not done so, said the minister.
Evaluating OF DOCUMENTS
About two months ago, on Feb 24 this season, Singapore received Indonesia’s proper request for extradition, along with the appropriate files, said Mr Shanmugam.
The AGC is now reviewing the demand and all the papers, together with other companies such as the CPIB. Once all the criteria for abduction are met, the operation will go back to court and it will kickstart the formal extradition order, said Mr Shanmugam.
” If Tannos doesn’t challenge his abduction, he may be extradited in six weeks, maybe even less. But he has told the court that he will not assent to the extradition, and that he did in fact be contesting the extradition, so the process naturally does take more”, he said.
The court will now have to find a date to hear the submissions from both sides, before coming to a decision, said Mr Shanmugam.
Tannos will also seek more time for his lawyers to prepare his case, and if the court eventually allows the extradition, he is entitled to appeal too, said the minister.
” Hearings can vary from case to case. The full legal process, if it’s contested at every step of the way and is complicated, can even take two years”, said Mr Shanmugam.
” It is not like we can just put him on a plane and send him back. There are formal processes”.
When someone enters Singapore on a false pretext or passport, they can just be turned back to the country of origin, but the circumstances of Tannos being in Singapore are different, said Mr Shanmugam.
” He’s got to go through the formal process because he’s got a valid passport, he’s validly in Singapore, and he’s accused of something”, he said.
“AGC is working very much on this. We take this very seriously, and the AGC will try and expedite the whole process”.
The Ministry of Law said in a media release that the Singapore government is “fully committed to combating crime and upholding our role as a responsible extradition partner”.  ,
” The Singapore government is taking the case very seriously, and will do all possible under the law to facilitate the request for Tannos ‘ extradition”, it said.