KPK interim chief Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean said here Thursday his office would improve its internal supervision following reports that case brokers worked among its investigators and had offered bribes to them.

“Until now we have yet to find any indication [of case brokers operating within the KPK], and have yet to find any solid links between brokers and our investigators,” Tumpak said.

He said there had apparently been a misunderstanding because most people believed the KPK case brokers had come from outside the commission and had exploited its name for their own benefit.

“A lot of people who we have detained have told us that prior to their arrest they have met several case brokers claiming they could provide them with protection from our arrest,” Tumpak said.

“However, as it turns out, the brokers’ claims were never proven, because we always manage to detain those people in the end,” he said.

The possibility of case brokers operating within the KPK had been suggested by Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Mahfud said case brokering practices at the KPK had involved a number of individuals of various rank.

“The people involved are those of deputy levels and below them. However, no connections have been found with the top leadership,” he said.

Mahfud also said the data on KPK case brokering he had submitted to President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono’s judicial corruption task force was solid.

Mahfud, however, refused to reveal any names, citing that his deal with the task force prevented him from going public.

Corruption within the country’s judicial system has taken the political stage recently, particularly since November last year when the Constitutional Court publicly played tapes revealing blatant corruption among top police and AGO officials.

The wiretapped recordings contained conversations between several high-ranking officials of the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), and Anggodo Widjojo, the younger brother of Anggoro Widjojo, one of the KPK’s main targets.

During the conversations, Anggodo was understoood to have been the mastermind coordinating the high-ranking officials in the framing of two KPK deputy chairmen, Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto.

As a consequence of the case, public protests grew, accusing the National Police and AGO of foul play. Chandra and Bibit were eventually released, and two high-ranking officials from the police and the AGO were then removed from their posts.

Anggodo, who was questioned and named a suspect by the KPK on Thursday, said he had no knowledge of whether case brokers had existed at the KPK or not.

Separately, a recent surprise inspection conducted by the task force at Pondok Bambu Penitentiary revealed that corruption within the justice system also takes place behind bars.

During the inspection, the task force found several high-profile inmates had been receiving special treatment, for example with private rooms, offices and even their own karaoke lounge.

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