Foreign Ministry joins hunt for BLBI fugitive
Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 06/19/2009 6:06 PM
The Foreign Ministry said Friday that it was seeking information from the authorities in Papua New Guinea on the whereabouts of BLBI graft convict Djoko Soegiarto Tjandra, who was reported to have fled to the country on June 10.
“We have begun asking for information of his whereabouts from the authorities there,” ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah told reporters on Friday. He added the government had also informed Singapore about his escape.
The Attorney’s General Office had imposed travel ban on Djoko who was convicted in a graft scandal linked to the government’s bail out money to save banks after being hardly hit by the Asian financial crisis in 1997.
Faizasyah said his ministry was not responsible for Djoko’s escape. His lawyer, O.C. Kaligis, said Friday his client did fly to PNG but he was not trying to avoid imprisonment.
