Japanese man arrested in Indonesia over COVID relief fraud

By ANDI JATMIKO and NINIEK KARMINI
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Authorities on the southern tip of Indonesia’s Sumatra island have arrested a Japanese fugitive accused of fraud in Japan. Tokyo police believe the man received a massive amount of COVID-19 subsidies for small businesses in distress before fleeing the country. An Indonesian National Police spokesperson says Mitsuhiro Taniguchi was arrested late Tuesday night in Kalirejo village of Central Lampung district. Taniguchi and a group of acquaintances allegedly submitted some 1,700 false applications for COVID-19 relief funds, receiving an estimated $7.3 million in subsidies. Taniguchi has been handed over to Indonesia’s Directorate of Immigration and authorities are coordinating with Japanese diplomats for his deportation.