Japanese Fugitive Mitsuhiro Taniguchi Arrested in Lampung

Indonesian National Police's Public Relations Division Head Inspector General Dedi Prasetyo confirmed that a Japanese fugitive, Mitsuhiro Taniguchi, 47, had been arrested in Lampung Province after the immigration officers found him.

"Taniguchi was arrested when he was in Kalirejo Sub-district, Central Lampung District, by the Bandar Lampung Immigration Office along with the Kalirejo Sector Police and Central Lampung Resort Police," he confirmed here on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.

Prasetyo remarked that prior to the arrest, the Japanese government had revoked Taniguchi’s passport. "The suspect was captured on Tuesday, June 7, at 10:30 p.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB -- UTC+7)," the official remarked.

After being arrested, the fugitive was handed over to the Directorate of Immigration Supervision and Enforcement of the Directorate General of Immigration to be prosecuted according to the Immigration Act, he added.

Earlier, Prasetyo stated that the Indonesian National Police had been proactive in coordinating with the Japanese National Police Agency (NPA) and the immigration authorities regarding the whereabouts of the fugitive in Indonesia. As of June 6, 2022, Taniguchi had not been included in Interpol’s Red Notice.

 However, the official has ensured the Indonesian police's readiness to assist in the quest for the fugitive. Since August 2020, the Japanese NPA had been investigating an alleged fraud on subsidy funds for small businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May 2022, three people were named as suspects: Rie Taniguchi, 45, -- Mitsuhiro's ex-wife -- as well as their two children, Daiki, 22, and their second son, aged 21, whose name had not been disclosed. Taniguchi was assumed to have instructed the three suspects to file a false tax return and submit hundreds of false subsidy proposals.