Explainer | Will Indonesia’s new extradition treaty with Singapore allow it to bring wealthy corruption suspects to justice?
- The two countries on Tuesday signed a deal that Jakarta hopes will allow it to repatriate Indonesians who have been hiding their ill-gotten gains in the city state
- Indonesians have parked hundreds of billions of dollars in Singapore. Jakarta has always wanted to pursue those who took funds after the Asian financial crisis
An extradition treaty between the two countries was signed in 2007 under then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono but the Indonesian parliament refused to ratify it amid concerns over a defence cooperation agreement that had been negotiated in parallel. Lawmakers said the defence agreement, that would have allowed Singapore to hold military exercises on Indonesian territory, could compromise Indonesia’s sovereignty.
However, some critics suggested at the time that the real reason lawmakers dragged their feet was so that corrupt Indonesians – possibly including themselves – could use Singapore as a safe haven.
Singapore has long maintained that it would be ready to proceed with both agreements as soon as Indonesia was ready to do so. Its diplomats have also pointed out Indonesians who reportedly fled with ill-gotten gains had travelled out of Southeast Asia’s largest economy legally.
On Tuesday, Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly said: “After a long process, we can finally sign this agreement after the Indonesian government first started pursuing an extradition treaty in 1998.
“This extradition agreement will create a deterrent effect for criminals in Indonesia and Singapore.”