Police deny prioritizing Nazaruddin
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 08/10/2011 7:09 PM
The National Police denied allegations that they prioritized their hunt for graft fugitive Muhammad Nazaruddin because the President had ordered them to.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said the police were still trying to bring home others who fled overseas to avoid bribery investigations such as Nunun Nurbaeti and Anggoro Widjojo.
"We are also looking for them. They are all the same," Anton said on Wednesday.
Nazaruddin was arrested in Cartagena, Colombia, on Sunday, almost three months after he fled Indonesia to avoid being involved in a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigation of a bribery case linked to the construction of an athletes' village for the 2011 SEA Games, in Palembang, South Sumatra.
During his time on the lam, Nazaruddin gave interviews and sent messages to Indonesian media outlets accusing several high-ranking Democratic Party members, including chairman Anas Urbaningrum, of being involved in the bribery.
His accusations raised public anxieties and led President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to order National Police Chief Timur Pradopo to hasten the pursuit of Nazaruddin.
After Nazaruddin’s arrest, police remain on the hunt for Nunun Nurbaeti, who is suspected of bribery involving the election of Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor in 2004. Nunun, the wife of former National Police deputy chief Adang Daradjatun, allegedly gave travelers' checks worth up to Rp 24 billion (US$2.81 million) to legislators in return for their votes in support of Miranda S. Goeltom in the election.
Nunun fled Indonesia last year after the travelers' checks case emerged.
As in the hunt for Nazaruddin, police are cooperating with the International Police (Interpol) to find Nunun.
The police are also still searching for Anggoro Widjojo, a bribery suspect linked to the forestry minister’s communication system project. Anggoro fled Indonesia to avoid investigation in 2008.
The President has not given any direct orders for the police to hasten their search for Nunun or Anggoro.
