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Former RI envoy to US suspect in graft case
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named a former executive at the Foreign Ministry a suspect in an corruption case related to the renovation of the Indonesian Embassy building in Singapore in 2003
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he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named a former executive at the Foreign Ministry a suspect in an corruption case related to the renovation of the Indonesian Embassy building in Singapore in 2003.
The accused, identified only by his initial SP, is a former secretary-general at the ministry, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said Monday.
SP, Johan said, would be charged with articles of the 1999 Corruption Law.
The suspect allegedly embezzled up to US$175,000 from a budget allocated for the renovation of Embassy’s residential compound. The project’s value has been estimated at Rp 16.4 billion.
Previously, the KPK had approached SP for questioning as a witness in the case.
However, he failed to show up, saying he was busy with his ambassadorial duties.
The case has also implicated former Indonesian ambassador to Singapore Mochamad Slamet Hidayat, who was charged with corruption in August 2008.
Slamet, who held his post from 2003 to 2006, was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of misappropriating S$280,000 (US$197,626) in the renovation project. Prosecutors in the case also accused him of bribing former Foreign Ministry secretary-general Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat (who until November last year served as the Indonesian Ambassador to the United States) with US$200,000 in gifts.
SP’s alleged involvement in the case adds to the list of Indonesian envoys who have been implicated in corruption cases over the last few years.
In 2008, Rusdiharjo, the former Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia, was sentenced to two years in prison for charging illegal fees to Indonesian migrant workers applying for permits.
Rusdiharjo’s sentence was reduced to 18 months on appeal.
Hamid Awaluddin, currently the Indonesian envoy to Russia, has been implicated in alleged corruption in a passport project carried out by the Justice and Human Rights Ministry where he served as minister from 2005 to 2007.
