T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) took a step forward on Tuesday in its probe into alleged corruption surrounding the Rp 6 trillion (US$521 million) national electronic identity (e-ID) card program in 2011 and 2012, by naming a Home Ministry official a suspect in the case.

The KPK has accused the official, identified as Sugiarto, of committing malfeasance, given his authority as the official in charge of the project when the alleged crime took place.

'€œWe have found two strong pieces of evidence leading us to conclude that a criminal act allegedly took place during the tender,'€ KPK spokesman Johan Budi told a press briefing in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He said the antigraft body was still calculating the state losses resulting from Sugiarto'€™s alleged misconduct, adding that the KPK'€™s investigation into the case was launched after the commission received reports from several NGOs in 2012-2013.

Johan did not detail the KPK'€™s findings of alleged irregularities in the e-ID project, saying only that it may have been plagued by markups, direct appointments or kickbacks.

Sugiarto has been charged under articles 2 and 3 of the 2001 Corruption Law, in conjunction with articles 55 and 64 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on collective and continuous crimes. The use of the KUHP articles implies that other parties may have played a role in the case but, so far, Sugiarto is the only named suspect.

When asked whether Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi may have been involved, Johan said '€œit was too early to say anything about that'€, adding that KPK investigators had only just begun to delve into Sugiarto'€™s role in the case. '€œAs the investigation progresses, investigators will also gather evidence on the possible involvement of other parties. If enough evidence points to the involvement of others, then the KPK will name them suspects,'€ he said.

Johan added that besides the NGO reports, graft convict and former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin had also provided KPK investigators with information about the case.

He refused to disclose what the KPK had been told by Nazaruddin, who has revealed a number of graft scandals, leading to the conviction of several senior government officials.

Nazaruddin had previously said that the project had a 49 percent markup, amounting to Rp 2.5 trillion, of which Rp 1.77 trillion was distributed in kickbacks to the House of Representatives, the Home Ministry and the winners of the tender.

He added that as much as Rp 250 billion, taken from five companies about to participate in the tender, was given to a number of lawmakers at the House to secure the project'€™s approval in the House. Nazaruddin claimed he had acted as the project'€™s executor in the House.

He also said that the project had been marred with nepotism after it was revealed to the public that one of the tender-winning companies was owned by one of Gamawan'€™s '€œclose colleagues'€. The company'€™s owner Paulus Tannos is suspected of developing the close ties with Gamawan when the latter served as West Sumatra governor. Last year, Gamawan denied all the accusations.