West Java unable to regain stolen funds in full

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Suherdjoko ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Bandung, Semarang   |  Wed, 12/10/2008 10:53 AM  |  The Archipelago

The West Java Provincial Prosecutor's Office has managed to recover only Rp 1.86 billion (US$170,000), less than 1 percent of funds stolen, in the 82 cases it has submitted to court, chief prosecutor Kamal Sofyan said Tuesday.

Meanwhile in Semarang, a number of anti-graft groups said Central Java prosecutors were not following through on known investigations in that province.

In Bandung, Kamal said investigators from his office had investigated 86 graft cases stemming either from public complaints or from Supreme Audit Agency reports from January to December this year.

They include nine major cases involving misuse of Garut regency funds in the procurement of goods and services and road construction in 2007 and 2008, with estimated losses of Rp 150 billion to the state. They also include Rp 3.4 billion in bad loans held by Bank Jabar -- owned by the provincial administration -- for the construction of teaching and laboratory facilities at the Bandung Institute of Technology, in which five people have been named suspects.

Kamal said he regretted the ongoing complaints of alleged graft, especially from the public.

"We have received a lot of written complaints, but they had not included the identities of complainants nor strong evidence," he said.

"We did follow up on the tip-offs, but they were inconclusive."

Kamal was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of International Anti-Corruption Day activities at the West Java Prosecutor's Office in Bandung.

He said the number of graft cases this year had risen compared to last year when the office handled 67 cases estimated to have cost the state Rp 237.4 billion.

Kamal added tender losers had exploited the opportunity to point fingers by lodging complaints against their business competitors.

"In more than a few instances investigations were eventually halted due to lack of evidence," he said.

In Semarang, the Central Java chapter secretary of the Commission on Investigation and Eradication of Collusion, Corruption and Nepotism (KPPKKN) Eko Haryanto said Tuesday that province's Prosecutor's Office had only investigated 22 of the 29 graft cases under its jurisdiction.

Eko said of the 29 graft allegations reported in various regencies and municipalities in Central Java, the provincial capital Semarang ranked least attentive with five cases still mired in the provincial Prosecutor's Office.

"This indicates Semarang is rife with corruption and the prosecutor's office is having a hard time penetrating," said Eko.

The province has incurred a loss of Rp 7.9 trillion from the cases handled by its High Prosecutor's Office with Rp 7 trillion yet to be retrieved.

Also in Semarang, artists and activists from the Semarang Legal Aid Institute, KPPKKN and the NGO Pattiro staged a theatrical protest at the Tugu Muda monument to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day.

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