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The Attorney General’s Office said on Wednesday that two fugitives wanted in the Bank Century scandal would be tried for corruption with or without their presence in the country.

“Once prosecutors collect enough evidence against them, we will file the case with the court,” said AGO spokesman Didiek Darmadi. “If they are still at large by that time, they will be tried in absentia.”

He was referring to Hesham Al Warraq and Rafat Ali Rizvi, two foreign nationals accused of stealing more than a billion dollars from Bank Century, which the government began bailing out last November after depositors lost $1.14 billion in a fraudulent investment scheme.

Police have placed the two on an Interpol fugitives list, but at least one of them is in Singapore, which Indonesia does not have an extradition treaty with.

Over the weekend, Rafat met with select members of the media in Singapore to repair his “damaged reputation” and deny allegations linking him and Hesham with Robert Tantular, once a key Century shareholder who has been sentenced to four years in prison for banking fraud.

In a joint written statement obtained by the Jakarta Globe, the two said they were willing to assist Indonesian police investigating the case and help recover embezzled assets if the charges against them were dropped.

Rafat claimed to have found an unnamed Middle Eastern investor willing to take over the bank, repay investors and return the Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) in bailout money the bank received.

But police on Tuesday rejected the offer of assistance.

“They are fugitives. Thieves. We will not cooperate or negotiate with them. We will arrest them if they reappear,” said Brig. Gen. Edmond Ilyas, the National Police’s director for financial crimes.

Budi Rochadi, a Bank Indonesia deputy governor in charge of banking supervision, also said the central bank had “had enough” with the two and told reporters he hoped the media would not portray the fugitives as heroes for their offer of help.

“He [Rafat] has said things like that before. He has short lips,” Budi said on the sidelines of a discussion about Bank Century held in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Budi added that together with Tantular, Rafat and Hesham were the “masterminds” of the crime that led to the bank’s financial troubles.

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said his office would strive to recover the Rp 11 trillion ($1.14 billion) in state assets stolen from Bank Century and reportedly being kept in Hong Kong by the two fugitives.

He said Indonesia and Hong Kong had signed a mutual legal assistance agreement that allows for the seizure of assets.

Late last month, the AGO started fresh investigations into alleged criminal activity during the government’s rescue of the ailing bank after police issued arrest warrants for the two men under the anticorruption law.

Several central bank officials have been summoned to testify in front of the AGO regarding the bailout, which stirred up public controversy when it was issued without the approval of the House of Representatives.