British Banker Could Face Death Over Fraud Charges

February 7, 2010 by Infowars Ireland

A multi-millionaire British citizen is facing a potential death sentence in Indonesia on charges of corruption and fraud relating to the controversial collapse of one of the country’s leading banks.

Rafat Ali Rizvi, inset, has been accused of stealing assets from Bank Century

By Philip Aldrick
www.telegraph.co.uk
06 Feb 2010

Rafat Ali Rizvi, 49, who grew up and went to university in the UK, has been accused of stealing assets from Bank Century after it was rescued from collapse by the state in November 2008 with $670m (£430m) of taxpayers’ money.

Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for Mr Rizvi at Indonesia’s request but he remains at large, splitting his time between the UK, where he has a property on London’s Park Lane, and Singapore. Neither country has an extradition agreement with Indonesia.

Mr Rivzi, believed to be worth around $600m, protests his innocence but friends say he fears standing trial in Indonesia because the Bank Century case has become highly political. Investigations have been launched into the original bail-out as well as alleged corruption surrounding the case.

According to Mr Rivzi’s lawyers, he believes he will be made a scapegoat for the bank’s failure.

Mr Rivzi was a major shareholder in Bank Century alongside Hesham al Warraq, a Saudi national, and Robert Tantular, a local entrepreneur. Mr Tantular has been jailed for five years on charges of not honouring a letter of agreement, but the government is going after Mr Rivzi and Mr al Warraq, who is also at large, on charges of corruption. His lawyers say that, if convicted, they could face the death penalty. Read more…