Corrupt young civil servants least likely to work alone: ICW

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) activist Ade Irawan said on Wednesday that young civil servants who own suspicious ‘fat accounts’ were likely to work alone.

“Bureaucracy is naturally hierarchical. When it comes to projects worth billions of rupiah, it is impossible that these corrupt young civil servants work without the approval of their supervisors, or even their ministers,” Ade said.

The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) previously announced that it found that 50 percent of young civil servants had been involved in corruption, including 10 individuals who possessed personal bank accounts containing hundreds of billions of rupiah.

The PPATK said it suspected that the money had been gained from corrupt practices, such as creating fictitious projects and accepting gratuities and bribes.

Banu (not his real name), a 27-year-old staffer at a ministry, told The Jakarta Post that he earned about Rp 5 million (US$550) a month.

However, civil servants were allowed to run their own businesses and generate extra income as long as those business did not come into contact with their principal tasks as a civil servant, he said

“Many of my colleagues worked for private companies and ran their own businesses before they became civil servants. They got busier at work and chose to be civil servants so they had enough time to manage their businesses,” he said, adding that some of his colleagues could receive Rp 10 million to Rp 30 million per month extra income from their side jobs.

Banu, who has been working at the ministry for two years, stressed that a young civil servant could not amass a lot of funds from projects without help from his supervisor. (swd)