Manado mayor gets 5 years in jail for graft

Guilty as charged: Manado Mayor Jimmy Rimba Rogy (left) talks to his lawyer after hearing the judges' verdict at the Corruption Court in South Jakarta on Monday. He was sentenced to five years in prison in relation to a Rp 71.4 billion (US$ 7.1 million) graft case. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)

The Corruption Court sentenced Manado Mayor Jimmy Rimba Rogi to five years in jail on Monday after finding him guilty of embezzling Rp 70.3 billion dollars from regional funds.

The panel of judges said Jimmy was proven to have withdrawn money from local government’s funds in the province-owned South Sulawesi Bank between January 2006 and February 2007, mostly for personal interests. The state money embezzled came mostly from revenue sharing and the central government’s financial aid to the municipality.

“The accusation that the defendant has enriched himself is proven,” Judge Slamet Subagyo told a court hearing.

Jimmy asked the local government’s treasurer, Wenny Rolos, several times to withdraw a total of Rp 48.2 billion for the operational costs of his administration, but only Rp 1.9 billion was used appropriately, the judges said.

As chairman of the local soccer club Persma, Jimmy ordered a withdrawal a total of Rp 13.4 billion from the local government’s bank account for the club without any legitimate documents.

Prosecutors had sought an eight-year jail term for Jimmy.

Jimmy and his lawyers deemed the verdict unfair, but they have not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling.