Indonesia, Singapore to sign extradition treaty: FM

Indonesia and Singapore are to sign a long-awaited extradition agreement on Friday in Bali island, in a bid to return Indonesia's huge assets terminated by corrupt people in the state-city, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said Tuesday.

"We have agreed on the extradition treaty with Singapore," said Wirajuda at the State Palace.

The two countries have begun to discuss the treaty since January 2005 and the different legal system has been a hindrance for the treaty. The Indonesian government has been pushing for the conclusion of the treaty.

Indonesia, under the leadership of President Susilo Bamabang Yudhoyono since 2004, has been seriously combating the systemic corruption in the country, scores of top officials have been put in jail and undergone legal process for corruption charge.

"They, who are convicted in crime as it was stipulated in the treaty, can be legally returned home," said Wirajuda.

But, Minister Wirajuda said that the implementation of the treaty would be determined further.

Singapore has denied allegations that it is a center for siphoned funds.

The question is whether the assets and the Indonesian corrupt people are still in the tiny country now.

Indonesian Attorney General Abdurahman Saleh cast doubt on the possibility of capturing the corrupt people and returning the assets from the tiny nation despite the signing of the treaty which can give legal authorities to return those allegedly involved in corruption and their assets placed in Singapore banks.

"We expect like that (to be able to return all the assets and the corrupt people), but it is not easy. When we were discussing, they (the corrupt people) could have already brought the assets to other countries," Saleh said after a meeting at the State Palace here Tuesday.

The attorney general said that treaty would be retroactive to more than five years, which could charge those allegedly involved in corruption during the era of former president Soeharto.

"The retroacticity could be until the period of former president Soeharto administration," he said.

Billions of U.S. dollars funds were allegedly corrupted during the period and parked in the neighbor country of Singapore due to the absence of the treaty.

Source: Xinhua