AGO grills ex-foreign envoys to China for graft

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) on Monday questioned two former foreign envoys of the Indonesian Embassy in China for their alleged roles in the misappropriation of visa fees.

Retired Lt.Gen. Kuntara and AA. Kustia, both ambassadors between 1999 and 2004, arrived at the AGO's office at 9.30 a.m. for questioning.

AGO investigators have named the pair as suspects in the misuse of fees charged for visas, passports and special travel documents (SPLP) at the embassy between May 2000 and October 2004.

A decree on immigration fees issued by the former Indonesian ambassador to China on Sept. 24, 1999 stipulated a revised procedure for channeling the money and said applicants must pay 55 Yuan (US$8) per passport.

The guilty parties then charged higher fees at the embassy while filing payment reports with the Foreign Ministry based on the standard rate, allowing them to pocket the difference.

The AGO says the scheme resulted in state loses of 10.27 million Yuan (approximately US$1.5 million) and US$9,613.

Investigators traveled to the embassy two weeks ago to question its staff and retrieve documents as evidence. (ewd)