Hendry Lie, boss of Sriwijaya Air who is a suspect in tin trade corruption case related to 2015-2022 illegal tin mining activities within the mining license (IUP) operational area of State-owned tin miner PT Timah, was arrested upon arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Monday, November 18, 2024.
He had to return back to Indonesia as his passport would expire on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. He is now detained at the Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta.
“So, his return to Indonesia is because his passport will expire on November 27, 2024,” said Abdul Qohar, Director for Investigation at the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
Qohar said that Hendry could not extend his passport because the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) had sent a letter of withdrawal of his passport.
“It is not possible to extend it, because investigators have sent a letter to the Singapore Embassy [in Jakarta] through the Immigration Directorate General to withdraw the person’s passport,” he said.
Qohar said that Hendry had been living in Singapore since March 2024 for undergoing medical treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
“He flew to Singapore upon the completion of the first inquiry session of the investigation. He did not return back to Indonesia on the grounds that he was undergoing treatment in Singapore, at Mount Elizabeth,” he said.
The AGO has so far arrested 23 people as suspects in the tin trade corruption case involving illegal mining operation within PT Timah’s IUP operational area. Based on calculations by the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), the value of state financial losses in the case has reached Rp300.003 trillion (US$ 19 billion).
As much as Rp2.85 trillion in losses was incurred for the excess smelter rental price; Rp26.649 trillion for illegal tin ore payments by PT Timah to partners; and Rp271.6 trillion for the value of ecological damages resulting from illegal tin mining activities.
