The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has arrested three former Foreign Ministry officials, one of them a director of a travel company, for their alleged role in a graft case involving the markup of airline tickets.
Two of the suspects, Ade Wismar Wijaya and Ade Sudirman, worked as staffers at the ministry’s finance bureau.
The third suspect, Syarwani Soeni, is director of PT Indowanua Inti Sentosa, one of the travel agents used by the ministry. He was formerly head of the daily expenses division at the foreign ministry.
“We detained Syarmani and Ade separately so that they would not be able collaborate their testimonies,” director of investigations at the AGO’s special crimes office Arminsyah said Wednesday.
He said the three were considered responsible for a graft case that had allegedly caused losses state of Rp 2.2 billion (US$236,500).
They are charged with violating the Anticorruption Law.
Prosecutors will question more witnesses starting tomorrow.
“Some witnesses are from travel agencies, but there are others from the Foreign Ministry,” he said.
The ministry has dismissed three officials allegedly involved in the case. A source close to the case could not name the three officials, but said they held the positions of finance bureau chiefs in the ministry.
The administrative sanctions were recommended by the ministry’s inspectorate, ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said last month.
The ministry has returned Rp 9.29 billion (US$1 million) or nearly half of the total state funds embezzled to the state treasury.
Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Marwan Effendy said the amount of money returned was less than the total estimated losses from alleged graft between 2008 and 2009.
He added the ministry should also return the losses accrued in similar cases up to 2008.
The state losses were caused by marked up overseas airfares for diplomats in foreign posts who were transferred to Jakarta between 2008 and 2009.
Ministry files showed that the airfares for 273 of the 512 total diplomat transfers — 53 percent of the tickets — during 2009 were marked up, compared to 2008 when for 329 of the 673 diplomat transfers — 49 percent — were marked up.
Ministry officials allegedly collaborated with seven travel agents to mark up the airfares.
According to Teuku, the returned funds were not taken from the Foreign Ministry’s treasury.
“The funds were from officials whom the Foreign Ministry’s inspectorate had declared responsible in each case,” he said. He declined to reveal their identity.
Teuku denied his ministry was trying to influence the AGO’s investigation by returning the funds.
“The AGO has their own authority. There is no way we could interfere with them,” he said.
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has reported the case to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
ICW investigation coordinator Agus Sunaryanto said neither disciplinary sanctions nor restitution of state losses should lead to exoneration from crimes committed.
“Law enforcers, whether from the KPK or the AGO, must investigate the case regardless of the probe conducted by the ministry’s inspectorate,” he said.
