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Alleged irregularities found in Sukhoi jet fighters procurement
Purnomo Yusgiantoro: JPThe government has denied allegations of irregularities in the procurement of six Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30MKK fighter jets that are slated for delivery in July
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Purnomo Yusgiantoro: JP
The government has denied allegations of irregularities in the procurement of six Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30MKK fighter jets that are slated for delivery in July.
Members of the House of Representatives Commission I on defense and foreign affairs along with an NGO have alleged that there were irregularities in the US$470 million procurement that may have caused $50 million in state losses.
“Everything [related to the procurement] was conducted according to the proper procedures,” Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told reporters on Monday.
When asked about the alleged irregularities, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Agus Suhartono refused to address the issue directly.
“Weapon procurement is under the supervision of the Defense Ministry. We have no direct authority for supervision,” Agus said.
Lawmaker Tubagus Hasanuddin, the deputy chairman of House Commission I, earlier said that the most recent list price for a Sukhoi Su-30MKK as published by Russia’s state-run JSC Rosoboronexport, the only company that is authorized to export Russian defense technology, was $70 million.
“However, the government spent $470 million on six planes, or about $78.33 million each,” said Tubagus of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Purnomo denied that the price of the jet fighters had been inflated. “There were in fact price differences caused by inflation and other things. But I believe the price differences were not that much,” he said.
The TNI is currently operating 10 Sukhois, some of which were purchased in 2010 at about $55 million each.
Al Araf, an activist from human rights watchdog Imparsial, questioned the methods used by the government to procure the fighter jets.
Al Araf criticized the government’s decision to use foreign commercial loans to pay for the planes instead of government loans. “If the purchase was made according to a government-to-government scheme, the Russian government would provide state loans of up to $1 billion, which would be more efficient financially. Why didn’t the government use such a scheme?” he said.
He said that the tenor of Russia’s state loan for the fighters could be up to 15 years with a 5 percent interest rate. “A commercial loan tenor is much shorter, ranging from two to five years with a much higher interest rate,” he said.
Al Araf also claimed that he had official documents stating that a company identified as PT Trimarga Rekatama had brokered the jet fighter purchase deal.
“The involvement of a broker could cost the state up to 15 percent of the total purchase value in additional fees,” he said.
Purnomo denied that the government had used a broker.
“The government has directly dealt with the Jakarta representative of Rosoboronexport which is the official company appointed by the Russian government Rosoboronexport throughout the entire transaction processes. That is a form of G-to-G scheme. Those who accused us of using a broker must provide evidence for their statements,” Purnomo said.
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) activist Adnan Topan Husodo urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to launch a probe into the procurement of the fighter jets.
The additional six Sukhoi Su-30MKKs are expected to complete TNI’s sole Air Force Sukhoi squadron.
