KPK quizzes Miranda for six hours in BI bribery case

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) grilled former Bank Indonesia (BI) Senior Deputy Governor Miranda Goeltom for six hours in Jakarta on Wednesday about her involvement in a case of alleged bribery of a number of lawmakers to secure re-election as a BI official.

Miranda, however, denied she ever distributed bribes in any shape or form prior to her election success, and that the KPK only questioned her in her capacity as a witness.

Miranda also denied ever knowing the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) legislator, Agus Tjondro, the whistle blower in the case.

However, Agus said that Miranda had met him during a meeting at the Dharmawangsa hotel.

Agus said Miranda attended the Dharmawangsa meeting as part of an introduction process to meet the party's legislators prior to her election as the senior deputy governor in 2004.

"That's when we reached a deal to select Miranda," he said.

The meeting resulted in Miranda successfully becoming BI senior deputy governor by choice of the House of Representatives.

Miranda's election as the central bank's senior deputy governor in June 2004 has been mired in controversy since Agus revealed he had received Rp 500 million (US$52,500) in traveler's checks from PDI-P colleague Emir Moeis following the House of Representatives' assent for Miranda to fill the post.

Prior to the vote, Agus said, PDI-P legislators had met in the room used by the PDI-P on the eighth floor of the House building, where they were instructed to vote for Miranda.

Agus said each legislator was promised between Rp 300 million and Rp 500 million to vote for her. Miranda was later elected by 41 of the 54 members of Commission IX, which oversaw banking and finance at that time.

The 41 included almost all 17 PDI-P legislators and 15 Golkar legislators. Agus said that Endin Soefihara from the United Development Party (PPP) also received the same amount in checks.

The Financial Transaction Report Analysis Center (PPATK) at the time linked 480 traveler's checks to the election, but only 10 were cashed in by legislators in person.

The KPK has also named Golkar's Hamka Yandhu, PDI-P's Dudhie Makmun Murod and the Supreme Audit Agency's Udju Juhaeri as suspects in the case.

Antigraft groups have criticized the KPK's apparently slow investigation of the case, accusing several KPK members of being reticent in their investigations because they felt politically indebted to the PDI-P.

They called for all PDI-P legislators accused of accepting bribes to be questioned by the commission immediately to shed light on the case, and urged the KPK to investigate Miranda as a suspect, citing evidence from the PPATK and Agus's testimony was adequate to justify pressing charges.

However, the KPK said it would wait for more complete evidence before proceeding further with it's investigation.