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KPK indicts lawyer for Eddy Sindoro evasion plot
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has filed an indictment against Lucas, the lawyer of former Lippo Group senior executive Eddy Sindoro, which includes a plot to help the businessman evade justice.
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Lucas (in orange detention vest) is escorted to a vehicle after questioning by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Oct. 2. The KPK named Lucas a suspect on Oct. 1 for allegedly helping his client and KPK suspect, Eddy Sindoro, evade arrest in connection with a 2016 bribery case. (Antara/Adam Bariq)
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has filed an indictment against Lucas, the lawyer of former Lippo Group senior executive Eddy Sindoro, which has revealed a plot to help the businessman hide overseas and avoid arrest for alleged bribery.
KPK prosecutors indicted Lucas on Wednesday at the Jakarta Corruption Court for obstructing its investigation into Eddy for alleged bribery in connection with a 2016 Supreme Court case review.
According to the indictment, a copy of which The Jakarta Post obtained, Lucas advised Eddy in December 2016 to remain overseas and relinquish his Indonesian citizenship to avoid questioning by the KPK, which had been pursuing the businessman since mid-2016, when the case began to unfold.
“At his [Lucas'] suggestion, Eddy was assisted by an individual identified as Chua Chwee Chye to obtain a fake Dominican Republic passport,” the indictment read, but it did not disclose details on when or where the counterfeit passport was made.
On Aug. 5, 2018, Eddy was found to have entered Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from Bangkok, Thailand, on the fake passport.
Malaysian authorities captured Eddy on Aug. 7 when he attempted to exit that country on the fake passport, and ordered for him to be deported back to Indonesia by Aug. 29.
Lucas, who was aware of the incident in Malaysia, began making plans to help Eddy flee Indonesia immediately upon his arrival after his deportation from Malaysia, the indictment said.
Lucas had planned to get Eddy out of Indonesia without passing through immigration at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
The plan included the involvement of several airport and airline staff, including Soekarno-Hatta's Dwi Hendro Wibowo, Air Asia Indonesia duty executive Yulia Shintawati and airport immigration officer Andi Sofyar, all of whom allegedly accepted money from Lucas in exchange for their help.
The KPK said that on Aug. 29, Malaysian authorities deported Eddy, who arrived at Soekarno-Hatta where Dwi and Yulia met him on the tarmac. Dwi and Yulia allegedly escorted him immediately to a departure gate to board a Garuda Indonesia flight to Bangkok, bypassing immigration, the indictment said.
The KPK named Lucas a suspect in the case on Oct. 1 for obstructing its investigation into Eddy. Eleven days later on Oct. 12, Eddy surrendered to the Indonesian police attaché in Singapore, ending his two-year run from the law.
The KPK said earlier that Eddy had been hopping from one country to another from 2016 to 2018, and had traveled to Singapore, Bangkok, Malaysia and Myanmar in an alleged attempt to evade justice.
During Wednesday's hearing, Lucas told the court that he would lodge a formal objection against the KPK indictment, kompas.com reported.
