Colombia approves extradition of Indonesia's fugitive ex-treasurer

Colombia approves extradition of Indonesia's fugitive ex-treasurer

2011-08-11 10:07:09 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- The Colombian government has approved the extradition of fugitive bribery suspect Muhammad Nazaruddin who was arrested in Cartagena on Sunday, the Jakarta Globe reported on Thursday.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said that despite the euphoria following Nazaruddin's arrest, the timing of his return is not yet known. "The plan is that on August 10, at 5 p.m. local time, Nazaruddin will be handed over by Colombian prosecutors to Colombian immigration. From there, immigration will hand him over to the Indonesian government," Marty said at the State Palace.

In a press conference, Colombian police officials said they had been awaiting a formal diplomatic extradition request from Jakarta. Colombia and Indonesia do not have an extradition treaty but relations between the two countries are strong, according to the newspaper.

Marty however said the Indonesian government has already submitted all the documents requested by Colombia for Nazaruddin's extradition. He added that a team has already arrived in the Colombian capital of Bogota to handle to deportation.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono previously ordered all measures to be taken to ensure Nazaruddin's swift return to the country, given that some felt "uncomfortable" with his arrest.

Nazaruddin, former treasurer of the governing Democratic Party, was officially named a suspect late June in a bribery case involving an athletes' village project in Jakabaring, Palembang. Nazaruddin allegedly accepted bribes worth almost $3 million from a company which won a contract for athlete housing at the South East Asian Games, which will be held in Indonesia in November.

Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officials previously requested a travel ban on Nazaruddin, but he fled to Singapore on May 23, a day before the directorate general of immigration at the Law and Human Rights Ministry issued the ban.

In July, the Interpol listed him in its Red Notice list to seek his arrest or provisional arrest with a view to extradition. Nazaruddin was arrested on Sunday by Interpol Agents at Rafael Nunez International Airport in the resort city of Cartagena as he was trying to board a plane bound for Bogota, supposedly with the intention of watching a match in the FIFA Under-20 football tournament.

Colombia police said Nazaruddin had entered the country on a charter flight from Washington, D.C., while Indonesian authorities had earlier asserted that he had come via Madrid and Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean Sea.

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