How to rob a bank and get away in Indonesia

JAKARTA – Indonesia is replete with stories of the rich and powerful evading the corrupted short arms of the law. For instance, there is the notorious 1996 case of fraudster Eddy Tansil who failed to come home from the office one evening after being regularly allowed out of jail to attend to business matters. Tansil, who was serving a 20-year term at Jakarta’s top-security Cipinang Prison, is living in China by most accounts, enjoying the fruits of the US$420 million he embezzled from Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (PBI). The bank subsequently collapsed and became part of Bank Mandiri, now the biggest state bank. The 67-year-old fugitive warded off extradition and has never sought to come home –...