JAKARTA - Singapore and Jakarta are "in touch" in regards to Indonesia's football association chief La Nyalla Mattalitti, who was said to have fled to Singapore after he was named a suspect in a graft probe last month.
"We are in touch with the Indonesian authorities on the case of Indonesian national Mr La Nyalla Mattalitti," said a spokesman from Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday (April 17).
"As a matter of policy, we are unable to comment on specific cases. Singapore will cooperate with and provide assistance to Indonesia within the ambit of our laws and our international obligations."
The chairman of Indonesia's football association (PSSI) was named as a suspect in a graft investigation by the country's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on March 16. Mr La Nyalla later surfaced in Malaysia a day later and then in Singapore on March 29.
The Indonesian authorities have since revoked his passport and his whereabouts remain unclear.
Mr La Nyalla is suspected of being involved in a grant worth 5.3 billion rupiah (S$546,000) from the East Java administration to the provincial branch of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).
The grant was for the 2012 purchase of shares in Bank Jatim, which is owned by the province.
Mr La Nyalla, who is also the chairman of Kadin's East Java chapter, was placed on the commission's most wanted list after he ignored three KPK summonses to testify.
Mr Dandeni Herdiana, who heads the special investigation division at the East Java Public Prosecutor's Office, had said previously that the PSSI chief was in Singapore. He added that arresting Mr La Nyalla in a foreign country must be conducted diplomatically by coordinating with Interpol and the Indonesian National Police.
Indonesia's Attorney-General M. Prasetyo yesterday said a letter from the East Java Public Prosecutor's Office requesting assistance on the matter has been sent to Interpol.
Indonesia and Singapore have signed an extradition treaty, but Indonesian lawmakers have yet to ratify it in Parliament.
