Dhana case implicates Batam secretary

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The bribery and money-laundering scandal involving tax official Dhana Widyatmika has implicated Batam city secretary Agussahiman, who allegedly gave money to a subordinate to buy traveler’s checks at Bank Mandiri.

Raja Muchsin, the former head of the finance department of the Batam administration, testified before the Jakarta Corruption Court that he received Rp 750 million (US$79,500) from Agussahiman, who ordered him to buy the checks.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) previously said that Dhana accepted Rp 750 million in traveler’s checks from Batam. “I was called to the secretary’s office and told to buy the checks. I brought the money to my room and called Ardiansyah [Raja’s subordinate] to go to Bank Mandiri and bought the checks. I brought the checks back to the secretary directly,” Raja said on Thursday.

Raja said that Agussahiman might have received the money to buy the checks as a “reward” from companies that won contracts from the administration.