POLDA INVESTIGATION ON THEFT BY RIVARENO GELATO CLOSED. THE LEGAL EXPERT CONFIRMS THIS IS A CRIMINAL CASE.

DENPASAR, BALI – 25 August 2023. Almost 3 months after the crime occurred on 31 May 2023, the Polda Bali Ditreskrim investigators confirmed that the criminal investigation of organized theft of Leonardo Gelato in Seminyak where Rp. 10 billion worth of assets, after violent breaking an entry, were taken by suspect RBT and 50 men with 6 trucks and 1 forklift is now closed. According to the criminal investigation’s legal expert of Universitas Udayana, the General Manager of Rivareno Gelato Fatmawati, RBT was not authorized to take Leonardo Gelato’s assets. This confirms again this is a criminal case.

This also means that suspect RBT, who was strangely released 5 days after the official Polda Bali press release on 5 June 2023, is still a criminal suspect and logically is expected to be arrested soon so he can be prepared for prosecution by the state attorney’s office. Strangely, because according to the law, it can only be considered proper and reasonable that criminal suspects are released on bail after a minimum of 60 days in detention and after a thorough criminal investigation has been conducted.

RBT, as General Manager of Rivareno, celebrated his birthday last 23 August 2023 in grand style in Jakarta, with not only all the RivaReno personnel present but also his Rivareno Adireksa bosses Mac Yim Wan Yip, Chong Wai Thoong and Evianne Tantono at Rivareno Gelato Fatmawati (see picture).

The press contacted Evianne Tantono on 25 August 2023 at 12.16 Wita for a statement regarding the closing of the criminal investigation and her confession on 6 June 2023 to have instructed RBT to take the Leonardo Gelato assets to Jakarta, with the likely motive to open a 2nd Rivareno Gelato ice cream shop in Jakarta. She did not react to the press.

When the press contacted Mac Yim Wan Yip, Chong Wai Thoong and RBT on 25 August 2023 at 12.51 Wita, 12.54 Wita and 12.59 Wita they did not want to make a statement to the press. Also, legal advisor, Andrew Sutedja, was contacted by the press on 25 August 2023 at 13.17 Wita for his reaction but he did not comment either. When confirmed to Andrew Sutedja by whatsapp message, the phone number returned was that of the Medika Clinic in Jakarta, instead of Sutedja & Associates.

Until the time this news was published, Rivareno Gelato Jakarta did not provide any answers.

The owner of Leonardo Gelato, made a statement when he was met by the press at the Polda Headquarters in Denpasar on Friday (25/8/2023) at 15.11 Wita. He said: “I was expecting a confirmation that RBT is still a suspect of violating articles 362 and 363 IPC and I am still expecting that finally after 3 months justice takes its normal course and that not only RBT will be arrested, but also that Evianne Tantono as his admitted principal.”

Syafrudin Budiman, the editor of Prosiar, confirms this in his article on 6 June 2023 that Andrew Sutedja, as legal counsel of Evianne Tantono and RBT, made a statement to him that Rivareno owner Evianne Tantono had tasked her General Manager RBT to “secure” the Leonardo Gelato assets. It does not make sense that the Ditreskrim has not included Evianne Tantono in their criminal investigation. Evianne Tantono and Chong Wai Thoong were only called up twice to give their formal witness statement but never showed up.

(WE)