KPK makes headway in another stalled case after fugitive arrest in Singapore

JakartaPost-Jan 27, 2025

The recent arrest of a fugitive in the e-ID corruption case adds to the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) recent surge in activity in regard to high-profile cases that had been left in abeyance for years, as activists call on the agency to see these cases through to completion. Businessman and former Indonesian national Paulus Tannos, who also goes by the name Thian Po Tjhin, was arrested in Singapore last week by the Singaporean Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CIPB), ending his five-plus years of being on the run since he was named a suspect by the KPK in the e-ID case. KPK spokesperson Tessa Mahardika told the Jakarta Post on Sunday that Paulus’ arrest on Jan. 22 came after the KPK, through the National Police’s international relations division, requested a provisional arrest warrant, which was eventually issued by a Singaporean court on Jan. 17. Paulus was named a suspect by the KPK in August 2019 for his alleged role in the e-ID corruption case, which caused Rp 2.3 trillion (US$142 million) in state losses and sent former House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto of the Golkar Party to prison. The KPK accused Paulus of colluding to help his company PT Sandipala Arthaputra secure a rigged tender in the e-ID project and pocket Rp 140 billion from 2011 to 2013. Investigators also suspect that Paulus was involved in a scheme to pay kickbacks to a number of officials and lawmakers. The KPK had repeatedly subpoenaed Paulus for interrogation since 2019 but he never showed up, prompting the agency to include Paulus on the most-wanted list two years later. Lakso Anindito of graft watchdog the IM57+ Institute lauded the new KPK leaders, who assumed office only last month, for making significant progress in a manhunt that had stalled for years. Read more at:

https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2025/01/27/kpk-makes-headway-in-another-stalled-case-after-fugitive-arrest-in-singapore.html.