REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MEDAN -- Eddy Tansil, who embezzled US$565 million of Bank Bapindo's money and escaped an East Jakarta prison in 1996, must be extradited soon from China to Indonesia, a legal expert said.
"The Ministry of Law and Human Rights should act fast and settle administration for his extradition from China to Indonesia," Pedasteran Tarigan of the North Sumatra University, said here on Sunday.
He said that if the Indonesian government was late to act, it was feared that Tansil would flee again to other country. Parties who were involved in the escape of Tansil 17 years ago could once again help him.
"We have to take anticipatory step. It should not happen that Eddy Tansil escapes again from China. This could happen when he is to be taken to Indonesia to serve his sentence," he said.
The legal expert said that the Indonesian government could confiscate the assets of Tansil who had embezzled trillions of rupiah of state money.
"All amount of money he stole from Bank Bapindo and took it to China should be brought back to Indonesia," Tarigan said.
He said that should thank China for its assistance in locating fugitive Tansil and for its assistance to extradite him.
Eddy Tansil broke his jail cell at the Cipinang prison in East Jakarta on May 1996 when he was serving his 20 year jail term.
He was proven guilty of stealing Bank Bapindo's money amounting to US$565 through a credit facility scheme for his Golden Key Group company.
The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced him to 20 years in jail and fined him Rp30 million. The court also asked him to pay Rp500 billion in substitution money and pay Rp1.3 trillion in losses to the state.