(JP/Jerry Adiguna)The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is planning to report the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to the National Police over the KPK'€™s attempt to seize five cars parked at the party'€™s headquarters.

The party accused the KPK of being gung ho in conducting the attempted seizures as its investigators showed up without a proper warrant. '€œWe will be pressing charges,'€ PKS deputy secretary-general Fahri Hamzah said at the party'€™s headquarters in South Jakarta.

PKS executives held an emergency meeting on Saturday evening to discuss the latest issues concerning the party, which is now embroiled in the beef graft scandal that has implicated its former chairman, Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq.

The five cars that have been sealed by the KPK at PKS headquarters are believed to have been purchased with money illegally obtained by Luthfi. The cars are a VW Carravelle, a Mazda CX9, a Toyota Fortuner, a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and a Nissan Navara. The party, however, claimed that Luthfi only owned the Mazda.

The KPK investigators made their first attempt to seize the cars on Monday night. They returned to the PKS headquarters on Jl. TB Simatupang in South Jakarta the following day, but were denied entry to the building by a group of people that included PKS security guards. The party insisted that the KPK failed to show proper documentation to warrant the confiscation.

PKS lawmaker Indra said his party was not trying to obstruct the KPK'€™s investigation, adding that it actually supported the antigraft body in combating rampant corruption in the country. '€œBut the KPK should not discriminate,'€ he said during a discussion on money laundering in Cikini, Central Jakarta.

KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto accused the PKS of twisting the facts. He said the KPK investigators had taken a warrant and even a computer and a printer to print out the report at the scene. '€œSo, it'€™s not true that the KPK didn'€™t have the proper legal documents or that it violated the law,'€ he said.

Bambang said the KPK would still endeavor to discuss the matter with the PKS and had not yet decided whether to report the people who prevented the KPK officials from seizing the cars to the police for obstructing an investigation.

The PKS previously claimed that the graft accusations leveled against Luthfi were part of a conspiracy to destroy the party. It has also complained about what it claims was the KPK'€™s unfair treatment of Luthfi and the party. Unlike former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum and former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng, both of whom are named graft suspects but remain free, Luthfi was arrested only hours after being named a suspect.

Luthfi has been accused of abusing his power as then PKS chairman to assist a meat import company acquire a higher import quota from the Agriculture Ministry, which is led by senior PKS politician Suswono. The company, PT Indoguna Utama, allegedly promised to pay Luthfi Rp 40 billion (US$4.1 million) for his help. Luthfi is now being detained by the KPK along with Ahmad Fathanah, a broker and Luthfi'€™s close aide who allegedly masterminded the bribery.

The party had tried to distance itself from the scandal, saying that what Luthfi and Ahmad did had nothing to do with the party. The KPK, however, found indications that the party may have used the funds illegally obtained by the two suspects.

It has been alleged that Fathanah channeled funds to the party to finance the election campaign of Makassar Mayor Ilham Arif Sirajudin when he ran for governor of South Sulawesi. Ilham, who was backed by the PKS, said after questioning in Jakarta on Monday that Ahmad was the person who introduced him to the party.

Previously, KPK investigators had said that Luthfi may have used the bribery money to finance the party'€™s election campaign in North Sumatra.

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