SMS leak 'should not shift focus from fraud case'

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 09/20/2007 2:58 PM

Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said Wednesday the release of the text messaging records of a Tempo magazine journalist in connection with a tax fraud case should not divert attention from the corruption case itself.

Law enforcers and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) should also focus their investigations on other perpetrators besides Vincentius Amin Sutanto, a former financial controller with crude palm oil producer Asian Agri Group (AAG), who revealed the company's tax fraud by giving information to journalist Metta Dharmasaputra, said Emierson Yuntho from the ICW's justice monitoring division.

""Indeed, the case might not have been unveiled without Vincent providing information (on the fraud) to Metta, and the release of the text message records may threaten the freedom of the press. But another important thing is to find those behind Vincent since he did not operate by himself,"" Emierson said during a discussion.

The allegations of tax fraud first surfaced when Vincent leaked the group's December documents showing AAG had allegedly evaded tax payments of Rp 1.1 trillion (US$119.2 million) and reported the case to the KPK.

Vincent then surrendered to police in Jakarta in December and was sentenced in August to 11 years in prison for money laundering by the West Jakarta District Court, along two colleagues, Hendry Susilo and Agustinus Ferry Sutanto.

While Vincent was on the run in Singapore, he contacted Metta and promised to provide proof of the tax evasion.

But problems emerged when the records of text messaging between Vincent and Metta were leaked and circulated among journalists last week.

State-owned telecommunication services provider PT Telkom was then slammed by the Indonesian Press Council for giving the records to investigators after Metta and the Tempo news group filed a complaint to the council.

The council said that the leaking of the records could threaten press independence in providing information to the public. It plans to summon all the parties involved to explain the case and will hold a plenary meeting before issuing its recommendations.

AAG is a subsidiary of Raja Garuda Mas, a business group controlled by the country's richest businessman, Sukanto Tanoto.

Initial investigations carried out by a joint team comprising senior officials from the Directorate General of Taxation and the Corruption Eradication Commission revealed that AAG's tax fraud may have cost the state up to Rp 2.62 trillion.

""Investigators should also continue to pursue the tax fraud case, since Vincent was only convicted in relation to his involvement with the money laundering case,"" legal expert Dhaniswara K. Harjono said.

Metta, who also attended the discussion, said that besides the tax fraud case, there were also allegations tax officers had been bribed by AAG.

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