The successful extradition, however, should inspire the authorities to catch other high-profile suspects and convicts who have fled the country, experts have insisted.

On Thursday morning, the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s extradition team escorted Maria as the group arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport from Belgrade, where the Serbian government had formally handed her over to Indonesian authorities.

Maria was named a suspect for fraudulent gains she made from loans from state-owned lender Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) issued to her company PT Gramarindo Group, which she coowned with Adrian Waworuntu. She allegedly used a fictitious letter of credit to obtain US$136 million and 56 million euro ($118,846) in bank loans between 2002 and 2003.

BNI grew suspicious about the company and reported the case in June 2003 to the National Police, which opened a fraud investigation.

However, Maria reportedly fled to Singapore in September 2003, just a month before the police investigation team named her a suspect in the case. Interpol issued a red notice in December 2003 for Maria, who had by then been on the run for three months.

Meanwhile, the South Jakarta District Court tried and sentenced Adrian in 2005 to life imprisonment for corruption.

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