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Reza Chalid may become international fugitive over Freeport scandal
Under investigation: Oil businessman Reza Chalid (left) with defense minister and former energy and mineral resources minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro (right) at Rezaâs sonâs wedding party in 2014
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Under investigation: Oil businessman Reza Chalid (left) with defense minister and former energy and mineral resources minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro (right) at Rezaâs sonâs wedding party in 2014. Reza is now believed to be abroad and the Attorney Generalâs Office, the National Police and the Law and Human Rights Ministry are now cooperating to monitor his movements and again summons him to a House of Representatives ethics council (MKD) hearing to give testimony as a witness in House Speaker Setya Novanto's alleged misconduct case. (Tempo) (left) with defense minister and former energy and mineral resources minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro (right) at Rezaâs sonâs wedding party in 2014. Reza is now believed to be abroad and the Attorney Generalâs Office, the National Police and the Law and Human Rights Ministry are now cooperating to monitor his movements and again summons him to a House of Representatives ethics council (MKD) hearing to give testimony as a witness in House Speaker Setya Novanto's alleged misconduct case. (Tempo)
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span class="inline inline-center">Under investigation: Oil businessman Reza Chalid (left) with defense minister and former energy and mineral resources minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro (right) at Reza's son's wedding party in 2014. Reza is now believed to be abroad and the Attorney General's Office, the National Police and the Law and Human Rights Ministry are now cooperating to monitor his movements and again summons him to a House of Representatives ethics council (MKD) hearing to give testimony as a witness in House Speaker Setya Novanto's alleged misconduct case. (Tempo)
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) may charge Reza Chalid for failing to fulfil a summons, thus making him an international fugitive, if the oil and gas tycoon keeps avoiding the House of Representatives ethics council's hearing (MKD) over the Freeport Indonesia scandal, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Wednesday.
Reza should have attended the MKD along with president director of Freeport Indonesia Maroef Sjamsoeddin last week to clarify his role in the alleged misuse of the names of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla in asking for a 20 percent share of the gold mining giant. Only Maroef attended the House ethics council.
"If he continues to be absent, he [will face legal action] in-absentia. Only then can we raise his status to fugitive. As of now, he's still a witness," said Kalla as quoted by tempo.co.
Kalla hoped that the AGO and the National Police, alongside the Law and Human Rights Ministry could quickly track Reza's whereabouts overseas and bring him before the ethics council as a witness in the case involving backroom deals with Freeport Indonesia.
Separately, however, National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said that it was not easy to track Reza as Indonesia did not have the authority to take someone into custody while they were in another country's territory.
"Indonesia does not have that jurisdiction. If we capture someone [in another country], we would be captured by that country's authorities," said Badrodin as quoted by kompas.com.
According to Badrodin, the police must cooperate with the International Police (Interpol) to track Reza, but currently, plans were not in place as the police would not act until President Jokowi and Vice President Kalla ' as the injured parties ' formally reported the crime.
Badrodin said that the police would keep tracking Reza's position abroad, but refused to say which country he was staying in.
The AGO is assisting with the process of tracking Reza, along with a special intelligence team and the directorate general for immigration at the Law and Human Rights Ministry, according to Arminsyah, a junior attorney for special crimes at the AGO. (afr/dan)
