Wealth reports raise eyebrows at graft body

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 09/13/2006 8:30 AM

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is investigating alleged irregularities in the wealth reports of dozens of state officials.

The commission said Tuesday it would launch a probe of what it considered to be mismatches between data given by state officials in their wealth reports and the findings of an audit conducted by KPK investigators.

""There are 80 state officials currently under our investigation who are eligible to become subjects of an inquiry,"" KPK director of wealth report registration and examination Muhammad Sigit said at a news conference.

Sigit said the investigation would also take into account reports from the public about state officials' suspicious wealth.

He declined to name the 80 officials in question, saying only that they came from the judiciary, legislative and executive bodies.

The 1999 law on corruption, collusion and nepotism-free governance authorizes the KPK to collect and publish wealth reports from state officials. The 2002 law on the KPK stipulates that the commission is entitled to investigate the reports.

The laws do not penalize state officials who fail to produce wealth reports on time.

So far, the KPK has published only the wealth reports of the 29 ministers who sit in the United Indonesia Cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In Tuesday's news conference, the KPK disclosed the wealth reports of Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno and former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto.

Erman's report showed that between April 2001 and May 2006, his wealth increased from Rp 2.07 billion (US$227,000) to Rp. 4.9 billion. The former House member from the National Awakening Party also has US$60,000 in a savings account.

Endriartono's wealth grew slightly between November 2004 and June 2006, from Rp 2.48 billion to Rp 2.68 billion.

The commission is currently awaiting confirmation of reports produced by Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh and the present TNI commander, Air Chief Marshall Djoko Suyanto.

The KPK is collecting additional information to complete the wealth reports of National Police chief Gen. Sutanto, State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adisucipto, State Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Suryadharma Ali and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Industry Minister Fahmi Idris were among state officials who hadn't yet submitted their wealth reports.

The commission has also published reports from 182 regents, mayors and governors who recently won office in local elections.

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