Prominent company named in online service graft

PT Bhakti Investama, a company belonging to the family of media magnate Harry Tanoesudibyo, has been implicated in an online graft case involving the Justice and Human Rights Ministry.

Yohanes Woworuntu, former president director of PT Sarana Rekatama Dinamika (SRD), which operated the government website, said the money raised from the online service went to PT Bhakti Investama.

“All the money was withdrawn to PT Bhakti Investama. It was considered an investment needed to support the operation of a number of companies,” Woworuntu, a suspect in the case, told Antara news agency prior to a questioning at the Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday.

The service generated an estimated Rp 420 billion (US$46.2 million) from access fees between April 2001 and November 2008. The contract between the SRD and the ministry stipulated that 90 percent of the money would go to the SRD, with the rest going to ministry officials.

The AGO has also named SRD owner Hartono Tanoesudibyo, Harry’s brother, and former justice minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra suspects in the graft case.

According to Woworuntu, the funds raised from the online service was later invested in a media company run by Hartono family, an airline company, a two-story apartment and a 1,000-square meter plot of land on Jakarta’s thoroughfare Jl. Thamrin.