S'pore working to expedite Indonesia's request to extradite businessman wanted for corruption

Indonesia has filed a formal extradition request to Singapore for a man who is accused of being part of a corruption scandal in Indonesia.

This is the first request under the extradition treaty between Singapore and Indonesia which came into effect on Mar. 22, 2024.

Speaking at a press conference, the Minister for Law K Shanmugam shared that Singapore received a request from Indonesia on Dec. 19, 2024 to extradite a man named Paulus Tannos, also known as Tjhin Thian Po.

Tannos is wanted by Indonesia for corruption offences concerning Indonesia's electronic identity (e-ID) card project, known as the "e-KTP project", which allegedly incurred significant state losses.

Jakarta Globe reported that Tannos has been on Indonesia's fugitive list since Oct. 19, 2021, after being named a suspect in a corruption case that cost the state about RP 2.3 trillion (S$187,707,420).

Tannos was the president and director of a technology company that was awarded the contract to produce 44 per cent of Indonesia's e-ID cards.

A timeline

On Dec. 19, 2024, Singapore received a request from Indonesia to provisionally arrest Tannos.

The request was then reviewed by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) in accordance with the legal requirements.

Within a month of the request, CPIB applied to the Singapore Court on Jan. 17, 2025 for a warrant to arrest Tannos.

The court granted the Order and Tannos was arrested on the same day.

Shanmugam explained that under the extradition order, a set of procedures must be followed.

The Minister of Law will be notified after the arrest warrant is issued. The minister will also consider if there's a reason to cancel the arrest.

Shanmugam said he did not cancel the arrest order based on AGC's advice.

Once Tannos was arrested, he was remanded with no bail.

During court proceedings, he produced a diplomatic passport issued by Guinea-Bissau, a country in West Africa.

However, as advised by the AGC, the Singapore government said that Tannos has no diplomatic immunity in Singapore.

Shanmugam said Tannos' counsel would take it up in court, but so far, they have not done so.

On Feb. 24, 2025, Singapore received Indonesia's formal request to extradite Tannos.

AGC has proceeded to review the request and its accompanying documents.

Once all the requirements for extradition are met, the matter will be placed before the courts.

May take years

If Tannos does not contest his extradition, the process could be done in six months, said Shanmugam.

However, according to Shanmugam, Tannos has told the court that he does not consent to the extradition and will be contesting it.

As such, the time the extradition process might take longer, depending on how the case unfolds.

"Both sides will have to put their submissions, and they will have to take a suitable date.

The court will have to find the date to hear the submissions, and then the court will take some time to make its order.

Tannos has a team of lawyers. He is also entitled to apply for bail.

He will also, of course, ask for time to prepare his case, and if the court does follow the extradition, he is entitled to appeal."

However, the minister added that the government will "do everything we can to expedite".

In a press release, the Ministry of Law said that the Singapore government is "taking the case very seriously, and will do all possible under the law to facilitate the request for Tannos' extradition".

Extradition treaty

Indonesia's parliament approved the extradition treaty in 2022 when it passed a bilateral extradition agreement with Singapore.

According to Reuters, people who committed 31 types of crime will be liable to be extradited, which will apply to offences committed up to 18 years ago.

Under the agreement, people cannot "escape justice by changing their citizenship".

Top photo via Indonesian media.