 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
National Recovering the Hidden Treasurer
Nazaruddin was arrested in Colombia after disappearing on a chartered jet. FBI agents assisted in tracking down the former Democrat Party treasurer. Police are still tracing the roles of those who arranged his much-publicized flight.
THE Under-20 World Cup in Colombia reached the Round of 16 knockout stage, last week. Countries such as Spain, Egypt, Australia, and the host nation had reached this round. Muhammad Nazaruddin chose Bogota, one of eight cities where matches are being held, to watch the final-eight round. The host country faces Costa Rica in this round.
On Saturday night two weeks ago, that former treasurer of the Democrat Party was getting ready to fly from Rafael Nunez International Airport in Cartegena. He had been staying in this city on the shores of the Caribbean for several days. Before he could board the plane, two immigration officers stopped him. They asked this member of the Energy Commission at the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) to show his identification.
Nazaruddin was suspected because he was carrying a passport with a different photo, in the name of Syarifuddin. The immigration official’s computer flashed red, indicating that the identity of this young politician had matched Interpol’s wanted list. The chief of Colombia’s judicial police, General Carlos Mena, said that Nazaruddin presented an Indonesian passport with a different photo and name, as was reported by the Associated Press.
That night at 2:15am Colombian time, Sunday morning Western Indonesian Time, Nazaruddin was taken to the police station. Michael Menufandu, the Indonesian Ambassador to Colombia, who had been informed by Interpol officials, immediately flew in from Bogota. On Sunday early afternoon, Menufandu met with Nazaruddin. “He said he had been in Cartegena for four days to hide out,” he said.
The ambassador said that Nazaruddin asked that he not be left alone. This suspect in a bribery case involving the construction of the Athlete Accommodations for the XXVI Sea Games in Palembang handed over a black handbag for safekeeping, containing a cellular phone and other items. At around 11pm Colombia time, Nazaruddin was flown to Bogota and arrested. After just two days, the legal authorities turned Nazaruddin over to immigration. On Thursday night local time, he was flown to Jakarta on a Gulfstream, a chartered jet costing Rp4 billion, which was chartered by the Indonesian government.
A few hours later, Nazaruddin was still trying to protest to those picking him up—officials of the police department, Corruption Eradication Commission, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He insisted that he be given a chance to be accompanied by his lawyer. His request was denied.
Even though there was an immigration violation, the Colombian government decided to deport Nazaruddin to be put on trial for a number of corruption-related crimes. “Colombia has often handled cases such as this, so they know how to deal with it,” said Made Subagia, Minister Counselor at the Indonesian Embassy in Bogota.
Nazaruddin’s efforts to obtain political asylum also failed. The Colombian government did not want to be troubled by such criminal matters, which they were afraid might disrupt relations between the two countries. Nazaruddin’s wish to be questioned in Bogota was also turned down. In fact, he was not given a chance to meet with O.C. Kaligis, his lawyer, who had already flown to the South American country.
According to Kaligis, Nazaruddin also attempted to hire a local lawyer from the De La Espriella office in Bogota. Lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella had even obtained power of attorney. Written in Spanish, signed by Nazaruddin and marked with his thumbprint, the letter was useless. Just a few hours after the letter was made, at 5:15pm, Nazaruddin was sent home.
In Indonesia, the arrest was good news for the government. Early Monday morning, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto reported to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The following afternoon, Djoko held a press conference at the State Palace, announcing the arrest. Djoko pointed out that the black handbag which Nazaruddin had given for safekeeping had already been sealed and could not be opened by anyone.
A Palace official said that Nazaruddin’s arrest relieved a heavy burden for National Police Chief, General Timur Pradopo and Chairman of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Sutanto. This is because Yudhoyono routinely requested reports on the pursuit of the 32-year-old man born in Simalungun, North Sumatra. “The expression was that those two officials were ‘under the whip’ on account of Nazaruddin,” said one Tempo source.
SINCE fleeing to Singapore a day before being banned from leaving the country by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Nazaruddin managed to leave numerous trails. When he called Tempo, he was using a Cambodia number. Word had it that he had traveled to Malaysia. Police officers said that Nazaruddin’s whereabouts were detected by Interpol when he was still in the Dominican Republic. In that country with a population of 10 million, he was able to communicate via Skype—which was then broadcast on television. “The search team from Indonesian National Police HQ immediately flew to Argentina,” said one police officer. “Because it was suspected that Nazaruddin was going to cross over to there.” Two weeks after the Singapore government announced that Nazaruddin was no longer in their country, police wiretapping equipment detected his phone signal in the area of Tanjung Balai Karimun, Riau Archipelago. However, police could not confirm if Nazaruddin was in Singapore or Indonesia, because Tanjung Balai is an area located on the border of the two countries. Interpol at National Police HQ, on their website, said that they had already received information from Interpol Colombia regarding Nazaruddin’s whereabouts on 5 August. After coordinating and meeting some requirements, an arrest was made just two days later. The KPK also caught on to the Nazaruddin’s presence in Colombia. Investigators at the office received news of their fugitive’s position three days before the arrest. To pursue him, the KPK obtained assistance from investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI, which has its office in Kuningan, Jakarta, starting a few weeks earlier. KPK spokesman Johan Budi S.P. declined to comment on the FBI’s involvement. He verified that Nazaruddin’s presence in Colombia was known three days before his arrest. He said that the information on the use of a fake passport was received by the joint team of Interpol, KPK, and National Police HQ. Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam, Head of the Public Relations Division at National Police HQ, said that before being arrested Nazaruddin had been to six countries, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Spain, and the Dominican Republic. He said that Nazaruddin’s whereabouts were easily traced, because he often communicated via BlackBerry Messenger with some reporters and others in Indonesia. “Making it easy to follow his movements,” he said. After receiving an order from President Yudhoyono to arrest Nazaruddin, last month, General Timur Pradopo formed a team consisting of seven people. Led by Director V for Specific Crimes at the Criminal Investigation Unit, Brigadier-General Anas Yusuf, the team was divided into three: the monitoring team, negotiation team, and search team. The extent of the fugitive’s flight made the police suspect that someone was making the travel arrangements from Indonesia. Moreover, the police had intercepted the communication of someone who was communicating with Nazaruddin, talking about his flight. Refusing to mention this person’s complete identity, a senior police officer said that this individual resides in Bogor, West Java. NAZARUDDIN’S arrest is bad news for Syarifuddin. This 28-year-old was picked up by officers of the North Sumatra Police Department on Jalan Alfalah, Medan, on Tuesday last week. “He was arrested for questioning in connection with the use of his passport by another person,” said Commissioner Saptono, Head of the Vice Control Unit at the Directorate of Criminal Investigation at the North Sumatra Police. Syarifuddin is Nazaruddin’s cousin. “Their mothers are sisters,” said Zulkifli A.R., the lawyer who accompanied Syarifuddin while he was questioned by police. Zulkifli said his client often met Nazaruddin in Jakarta. “They would meet each Lebaran. But this was just a regular family visit.” In Medan, Syarifuddin lives at the home of his uncle, Muhammad Yunus Rasyid, on Jalan Garu I, Selamat 271, Medan. At this luxurious two-story residence built in a Middle-Eastern style, he completed his university studies while working to help his uncle. Yunus Rasyid, a former politician of the United Development Party and deputy speaker of the Medan regional legislative assembly from 1999-2009, is well-respected in Medan. However, his political career went downhill after failing to win a seat in the 2009 legislative election. Thanks to Nazaruddin’s lobbying, his nephew who was already a senior official in the Democrat Party, Yunus switched to the Democrat Party. Now he is Assistant Secretary of the Regional Leadership Board of the Democrat Party in North Sumatra. How could Syarifuddin’s passport end up in Nazaruddin’s hands? Minister of Justice and Human Rights Patrialis Akbar said that someone sent that passport abroad to Nazaruddin. However, Syarifuddin denied this. He said that his passport went missing after he used it on 27 June after returning from Singapore. The Class I Immigration Office of Polonia Medan, which issued Syarifuddin’s passport in 2008, notes that Syarifuddin only used his passport twice this year. The first was on 22 May to Penang, Malaysia, for medical treatment. The second time was to Singapore from 18-27 June. Until Wednesday of last week, Syarifuddin’s position was still safe. “He was not arrested for lack of evidence,” said North Sumatra Police Chief, Insp. Gen. Wisjnu Amat Sastro. However, Section Head of the North Sumatra Police, Sr. Comr. Raden Heru Prakoso, confirmed that investigation into Syarifuddin’s involvement has not been ceased. He said that the police are also investigating a possible role played by Yunus Rasyid. “Because Syarifuddin said that his passport went missing at his uncle’s home,” he said. ON arrival in Jakarta, Nazaruddin will have little time to rest. He is wanted for questioning in numerous corruption cases which he is accused of. In addition to being a suspect in the bribery case of the construction of athlete accommodations, he is also a witness in several graft cases at a number of cabinet ministries. The Corruption Eradication Commission said that hundreds of companies connected with him are suspected of causing hundreds of billion of rupiah of state losses. The KPK has asked for the first chance to question Nazaruddin. “Even though there are cases with the police and the Attorney General’s Office, Nazaruddin is a KPK fugitive,” said Johan Budi. “We want to be the first to question him.” Despite being in a heap of trouble, Nazaruddin still has a secret weapon. One police officer said that Nazaruddin has entrusted a load of evidence with his lawyer in Singapore. According to him, even Kaligis does not have access to those secret documents. Although he has been arrested, it could so happen that Nazaruddin will continue to attack his former colleagues. Setri Yasra, Anton Septian, Pingit Aria (Jakarta), Sahat Simatupang (Medan), Tomi Aryanto (Bogota) |
Latest News [an error occurred while processing this directive] |
||||||||||||||
|
.gif)