PAPUA New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and his deputy, Belden Namah, have instructed their foreign affairs and immigration departments to withdraw the citizenship granted last week to fugitive Indonesian tycoon Joko Tjandra.
Joko, 61, fled from Jakarta by private jet in June 2009, shortly before he was convicted by the Indonesian Supreme Court of fraud, sentenced to two years' imprisonment, and ordered to repay $57 million he had obtained illegally.
Since then, Joko has spread his time between Singapore, Malaysia and PNG.
Joko is on Interpol's wanted list, and the Indonesian government has told PNG of its concerns on the issue.
Mr O'Neill said he had directed the withdrawal of Joko's citizenship pending a review by the Citizenship Advisory Committee. "I will not tolerate (the granting of citizenship) without due diligence in screening the people applying," he said. Full story
