Officials from Indonesia's Attorney General's Office have arrested the co-founder of Sriwijaya Air (SJ, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) after he ignored two summons related to a corruption investigation. Hendry Lie was marched through Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta Airport in handcuffs on the evening of November 18, 2024, after arriving on a flight from Singapore Changi.
As previously reported in ch-aviation, officials have wanted to question Lie about possible corruption involving state-owned metal producer and miner PT Timah. Besides his interest in Sriwijaya Air, he is also a beneficiary owner of a smelting company called PT Tinindo Internusa. Allegedly, the smelting firm illegally processed tin ore from a Timah concession over several years, benefiting it to the tune of IDR1 trillion rupiah (USD63 million). Lie and Tinindo Internusa were just two of many parties ensnared in a much wider corruption probe involving Timah that reportedly cost the Indonesian state around IDR271 trillion (USD17.1 billion).
Attempts to detain Lie have proved unsuccessful until now, although his brother, businessman Fandy Lingga, has been in custody since April on the same matters. Lie has been in Singapore for several months, his return delayed by medical matters, according to Indonesian outlets. However, while away, authorities moved to seize a IDR20 billion (USD1.3 million) holiday home registered in his wife's name.
It is unclear why Lie disregarded earlier summons to come in for questioning. In public statements, the Attorney General's Office said it would detain anyone who continued to ignore summons. Local outlets say Lie is now likely to be charged with breaches of Indonesia's corruption law and criminal code.
Sriwijaya Air was founded in 2003 by the Lie family and began scheduled operations later that year using a single B737-200. It now operates nine aircraft - five B737-500s and four B737-800s - to eighteen airports around Indonesia.
