The Riau Prosecutor's Office is currently investigating alleged corruption at the Indragiri Hulu regency legislative council, which involved Rp 116 billion (US$11.6 million) being illicitly "borrowed" from the regency coffers.
The embezzlement, believed to have been committed between 2005 and 2008, was exposed to the Supreme Audit Agency through its audit results.
Intelligence assistant at the prosecutor's office Heru Chairuddin said the embezzlement was carried out systematically by involving a number of active as well as former officials at the Indragiri Hulu regency administration, a number of local legislators from the 2004-2009 period and dozens of contractors.
"The funds were not disbursed through the bank but directly by officials managing funds at the regency, without going through the legal procedures despite the very clear and calculated allocation of regency budget," Heru said Thursday.
"No one can simply borrow from the local cashier."
He added 14 former officials had been examined as witnesses since investigations commenced in July, among them former Indragiri Hulu regent from the 2003-2008 period, Thamsir Rachman, former regency secretary Azhar Syam, former legislative secretary Zaharman, former heads of the Regional Supervisory Agency (BPD) Andi Ismet and Raja Marwan, and a number of officials managing the funds.
A team from the Attorney General's Office since Oct. 12 has examined dozens of contractors and 42 other regency officials who had allegedly misused the budget funds.
Heru said nearly all local legislators in the 2004-2009 term had allegedly misappropriated Rp 23 billion of the Rp 116 billion in embezzled regency budget funds.
The prosecutor's office has obtained evidence in the form of cash receipts used by the legislators to disburse funds from the regency cashier.
Prosecutors are currently requesting permission from the Riau governor to examine three Indragiri Hulu legislators from the previous term who were re-elected for the current period.
Indragiri Hulu Regent Mujtahid Thalib said the irregularity in the use of regency budget funds was part of a series of similar cases taking place in the past few years.
Mujtahid added he was unclear of the total amount of budget funds misappropriated collectively for personal interests.
He acknowledged there was an appeal to lenders to immediately return the funds to the regency coffers earlier.
Consequently, around Rp 31 billion of the funds have been returned.
