KPK to trace money trail in new BI graft case

Irawaty Wardany ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 09/11/2008 11:01 AM  |  Headlines

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will investigate a report by the Financial Transaction Report Analysis Center (PPATK) of some 400 traveler's checks at the heart of a House of Representatives graft scandal.

On Tuesday, the PPATK said it had tracked down the checks, allegedly given to legislators for electing Miranda Swaray Goeltoem the Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor in 2004.

"We received the report (on the traveler's checks) yesterday," KPK chairman Antasari Azhar said Wednesday after a hearing at the House.

However, he refused to go into details about the content of the report.

"Let it remain the KPK's exclusive reading material for a while," he said.

He added the PPATK report and previous data collected in KPK investigations would be used as the basis for a further probe into the case.

The scandal came to light after Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) legislator Agus Condro confessed to receiving 10 traveler's checks worth a total of Rp 500 million after voting for Miranda to be BI senior deputy governor in 2004.

However, Miranda continues to deny the allegations, saying she knew nothing about the checks. BI officials on Wednesday held a communal breaking of the fast, but would not comment on the case. Miranda did not attend the gathering.

Agus has twice met with KPK officials, and promised to return the assets he bought with the money.

"Not so long ago, the KPK was criticized for not acting on Agus Condro's confession. Well, this is proof that we continue to do our work," Antasari said.

However, he said he was not sure yet whether all the data related to what graft watchdog was looking for.

"If we find any indication of a crime, we will upgrade the status of the case to an investigation," he said.

Todung Mulya Lubis, noted lawyer and chairman of Transparency International Indonesia, said the PPATK data should be enough to allow for a full investigation by the KPK.

"The KPK can track down the bank that issued the checks, the receivers and the time the checks were cashed in," he told The Jakarta Post.

Agus claimed that at least four of his PDI-P colleagues in the House's Commission IX, which oversaw financial affairs, received the same amount of money from Dudhie Makmun Murod at the office of commission chief Emir Moeis, both PDI-P legislators.

Agus named the four as William Tutuarima, Budiningsih, Mateus Formes and Muhammad Iqbal.

"If result of the investigation shows there is a connection between the checks and Miranda's election, that could be the basis for the case to be legally probed," Todung said.

He added this was a golden opportunity for the KPK to push for bureaucracy reform in Indonesia.

He said he expected that all public positions filled through fit and proper tests to no longer be tainted by corrupt practices if the reform was forthcoming.

"This is also a test for the KPK to show that everyone can hold a public post because dignity and integrity, rather than money politics, wins votes," he said.

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