T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Wednesday that it would expedite its investigation into allegations of massive corruption at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, following an announcement from Energy Minister and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik that he would be resigning from the post in the near future.

A senior politician with the ruling Democratic Party, Jero recently announced that as of Oct. 1, he would vacate his ministerial position to take his seat in the House of Representatives representing Bali province for 2014-2019.

Jero is expected to end his term as minister on Oct. 20.

KPK deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas said that Jero'€™s resignation would not hamper the ongoing investigation into a number of graft cases at the ministry, some of which allegedly implicate Jero.

'€œThere is no law that prohibits us [from investigating someone who resigns from his post]. In fact, we will be stepping up our efforts to complete all the cases,'€ Busyro said on Wednesday.

The KPK is investigating four separate graft cases plaguing the ministry and the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) as well as House Commission VII on energy and natural mineral resources, which oversees the ministry.

KPK commissioner Bambang Widjojanto said the antigraft body would continue its probe into Jero'€™s possible role in the cases, and emphasized that his future role as a House lawmaker would not grant him immunity.

'€œThe bureaucratic arrangement at the ministry might change [after Jero leaves office]. However, our investigation is based on who does what, not on position.

Remember Hari Sabarno'€™s case? The KPK named him a graft suspect years after he left office,'€ Bambang said, referring to a former home minister in Megawati Soekarnoputri'€™s administration.

The KPK'€™s latest investigation into the ministry centers on the possibility that Jero instructed his secretary-general, Waryono Karno, to adjust the ministry'€™s budget to cover up graft-linked procurements worth billions of rupiah between 2011 and 2013.

However, during questioning in July, Jero denied having any involvement in the case, saying that the alleged irregularities took place in 2010, not 2011, when he assumed the leadership of the
ministry.

Speculation was rife that some individuals at the State Palace and Jero'€™s relatives may have played a part in the procurements after the KPK questioned Yudhoyono'€™s political communications adviser, Daniel Sparingga, and Jero'€™s wife, Triesna Wacik, as part of its investigation.

KPK deputy chairman Zulkarnain refused to confirm that Jero would be named a suspect in the case but said that as a minister, he should have been aware of what was going on in his office, including budget management.

Jero made headlines in January after a leaked document revealed that he was behind an attempt to bribe House Commission VII members during deliberations of the ministry'€™s budget at the House.

In a KPK document, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, Karen Agustiawan, former president director of state energy company PT Pertamina, told KPK investigators that former SKKMigas head Rudi Rubiandini once phoned her to say that Jero and he had agreed that SKKMigas would provide US$150,000 to help ease the ministry'€™s budget deliberations in the House, while another $150,000 was to be provided by Pertamina, whose operations are supervised by Jero'€™s office.

Following her rejection of the proposal, according to her documented statement, Rudi told her that he '€œwould report this to Jero'€.

Karen resigned from her position as Pertamina boss on Monday.