Thursday, the Indonesian parliament approved an extradition treaty with Singapore that will assist Jakarta in locating corruption suspects who have taken refuge or stored money offshore in Singapore.
The Indonesian government is attempting to recover billions of dollars in bailout funds distributed during the financial crises of the late 1990s and 2008, but never reimbursed by economic criminals suspected to be sheltering in Singapore.
Officials in Indonesia have complained for years about the purported freedom of fugitives in the neighboring country, where they have reportedly invested hundreds of millions of dollars in banks and real estate.
The measure was passed in Thursday's plenary session, and President Joko Widodo is anticipated to sign it into law.
"The extradition pact with Singapore would make it simpler for law enforcement to settle a crime while the perpetrators are in Singapore," Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly stated before to the vote.
It will apply to dozens of crimes committed up to eighteen years ago, including narcotics, terrorist, and money laundering offenses, he added.
The minister stated that the deal was an attempt to "provide justice and protection" for Indonesian nationals and demonstrated Jakarta's "active role in sustaining world order."
Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean of Singapore stated in February that he believed the new law would boost Indonesia's efforts "to prevent suspected criminals from escaping overseas and to capture them in Indonesia."
The two nations negotiated a long-delayed extradition deal in 2007, but Indonesia's parliament never accepted it.
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