T

he National Police have quietly apprehended Niwen Khairani, a fourth-echelon employee in the Batam administration who, according to the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), had a bank account in her name worth Rp 1.3 trillion (US$111 million).

 The suspect had not been seen at her office since the case of her fat bank account was discovered.

Riau Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Hartono said the investigation of the bank account was in the hands of the National Police'€™s Crime Division. He said Niwen had been detained in the custody of the National Police at its Jakarta headquarters since Saturday.

'€œOur job [in the Riau Police] is to provide support. Our personnel only gave some assistance. The questioning sessions were held several times in our office, but we had no idea about the content,'€ he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He said he did not monitor the updates on the case, including the details related to Niwen'€™s detention, saying that the case belonged to the National Police. He also refused to say whether the suspect'€™s brother, known only by the initial A, was also being investigated in connection with the bank account.

Meanwhile, Batam City spokesman Ardiwinata said he had only learned that Niwen was in police custody from the media.

'€œThe city administration has not received any notification. We only knew it from the media. To date, NK still holds civil servant status. We have not imposed any sanctions because the case is still going on,'€ he told the Post, referring to Niwen.

He said the administration would wait to see the outcome of the legal process, as regulated in Government Regulation (PP) No. 54/2010 on Civil Servants.

Last weekend, Ardiwinata said he did not know the whereabouts of Niwen, who was assigned to the Batam City Investment Board at the One Door Service Center office.

The PPATK said the financial transactions in question were connected to oil smuggling.

The flow of funds from the bank account was believed to have reached high-ranking law enforcement officials with the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) who have responsibility for dealing with oil smuggling issues in Batam.

Based on the information gathered by the Post, Niwen is the sister of an oil transportation businessmen who allegedly smuggled oil to foreign shops in border areas. Earlier, on June 18, National Police'€™s Criminal Investigations Directorate (Bareskrim) special economic crimes director Brig. Gen. Kamil Razak said that the police had questioned Niwen in Batam, Riau Islands.

He did not elaborate on who else would be questioned in connection with the case.

Last week, the Tax and Excise Office turned back a Singaporean named Zulkiflie Bin Rafien, 40, who intended to enter Batam with cash in the amount of US$500,000, or Rp 4.5 billion. The PPATK said the cash was related to a fat bank account worth Rp 1.3 billion that belonged to a Batam civil servant.

Meanwhile, anticorruption activist Novrizal Sadewa said he was indifferent about the disclosure of the flow of funds into the account of the civil servant if the National Police were still led by current chief Gen. Sutarman.

The PPATK earlier announced that several civil servants and police officers had suspicious bank accounts.

Among them was chief Brig. Labora Sitorus, who was reported by the PPATK as having Rp 1.5 trillion in one of his.

The Sorong District Court of Papua sentenced the low-ranking officer to prison after finding him guilty of illegal logging and fuel stockpiling.