E-KTP Corruption Fugitive Paulus Tannos Arrested in Singapore

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Prisons Yusril Ihza Mahendra has revealed that the fugitive in the electronic identity card () corruption case, , was arrested in Singapore two days ago.

"The person in question was arrested by the Singaporean authorities two days ago," Yusril told reporters at the Coordinating Ministry for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections building in South Jakarta on Friday, January 24, 2025.

Yusril said the Indonesian government was still trying to seek extradition from Singaporean authorities. He said his office would handle this case as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) fugitive was arrested abroad. He said they have the authority to negotiate the extradition. "The vocal point is the Minister of Law and Human Rights," he said.

The professor of constitutional law at the University of Indonesia ensured the extradition process would not take long if the necessary documents were complete. He confirmed that the Directorate General of General Legal Administration was preparing the documents. Yusril also expressed confidence in the diplomatic relations between Indonesia and , which he said were well-established. "We certainly hope that there will be no objection from the Singaporean government," he said.

Regarding the extradition of Paulus Tannos, Yusril said the government should not be overwhelmed in processing the case after the suspect's citizenship status changed. During his escape, Paulus was known to have changed his citizenship to South Africa, which was revealed in August 2023. "The problem is that when he committed the crime, which country was he a citizen of?" he said.

He said that if the Singaporean authorities did not consider Paulus an Indonesian citizen, the Indonesian government would provide evidence that Paulus was an Indonesian citizen. "He was an Indonesian citizen, especially when the crime was committed." In addition, Yusril believed that the Singaporean government was very concerned about corruption crimes, so they would agree that Paulus' actions were crimes.

Yusril said that the Indonesian government would investigate Paulus' national identity. He said that the Indonesian government still considered the fugitive corruption suspect to be an Indonesian citizen because the mechanism for changing citizenship must go through a release. "For now, we still consider the individual to be an Indonesian citizen." Yesterday, the KPK confirmed the arrest of the fugitive in the e-KTP corruption case, Paulus Tannos, in Singapore.

Paulus is undergoing an extradition hearing today. "Indeed, the extradition process for the suspect with the initials PT is currently underway," KPK spokesperson Tessa Mahardhika Sugiarto told Tempo on Thursday, January 23, 2025. However, Tessa could not reveal any information about Paulus Tannos as the case is still ongoing.

The KPK had found Paulus Tannos in 2023 while he was on vacation abroad. At that time, Paulus had apparently become a South African citizen.

Paulus Tannos is the director of PT Sandipala Arthaputra, which is part of the winning consortium for the e-KTP project with the National Printing House of the Republic of Indonesia (PNRI). The KPK named Tannos as a suspect in the e-KTP corruption case in August 2019. However, he and his family had left for Singapore in 2017.

Mutia Yuantisya contributed to this article.

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