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Police give Sri Mulyani, Kalla the all clear in TPPI graft case
No qualms all smiles: Vice President Jusuf Kalla (second left) and World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left) share a light moment in the waiting room prior to the inauguration of the Indonesia Green Infrastructure Summit 2015 in Jakarta on Tuesday, while other participants look on
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No qualms all smiles: Vice President Jusuf Kalla (second left) and World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left) share a light moment in the waiting room prior to the inauguration of the Indonesia Green Infrastructure Summit 2015 in Jakarta on Tuesday, while other participants look on.(Courtesy of the Vice Presidentâs Office ) (second left) and World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left) share a light moment in the waiting room prior to the inauguration of the Indonesia Green Infrastructure Summit 2015 in Jakarta on Tuesday, while other participants look on.(Courtesy of the Vice Presidentâs Office )
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span class="inline inline-center">No qualms all smiles: Vice President Jusuf Kalla (second left) and World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left) share a light moment in the waiting room prior to the inauguration of the Indonesia Green Infrastructure Summit 2015 in Jakarta on Tuesday, while other participants look on.(Courtesy of the Vice President's Office )
The National Police announced on Tuesday that neither Vice President Jusuf Kalla nor former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati were directly involved in an alleged graft case that has potentially caused the state to lose Rp 2 trillion (US$150 million).
The National Police's director for special economic crimes, Brig. Gen. Victor E. Simanjuntak, said there was not enough evidence to show that Sri Mulyani ordered the now-defunct BPMigas, the predecessor of the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas), to appoint PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indoatama (TPPI) as the buyer and seller of the state's condensate in 2009.
Victor said that during her questioning on Monday at the Finance Ministry's headquarters, Sri Mulyani told investigators that she had only signed a letter of approval on a payment method between TPPI and BPMigas before a contract was finalized because she had received a letter from the agency indicating that it had already appointed TPPI.
'Since a firm had already been appointed, she felt that the Finance Ministry had the responsibility to establish a payment method since it involved the state's treasury,' Victor told reporters at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.
Between 2009 and 2010, TPPI collaborated with BPMigas to market condensate in Indonesia.
However, the firm never paid profits from the sales to the government. Despite suspicions of foul play, BPMigas continued to extend its contract with the firm.
BPMigas chief Amien Sunaryadi previously defended the action, saying it was following orders from the Finance Ministry.
TPPI began selling the condensate despite the contract not being finalized until April 2010, after which BPMigas continued supplying condensate to the firm.
In its investigation, the police have found that TPPI should have paid Rp 2 trillion to the state, but instead the firm allegedly laundered the money.
Victor said that although Sri Mulyani could not be prosecuted, there were others in the ministry who could have had involvement in the scandal.
'Of course, there must have been a state official [in the Finance Ministry] who controlled the flow of funds. We will soon find out after we conduct further investigations,' he said.
On Monday, Sri Mulyani also revealed that the government was aware that in 2009 TPPI had difficulties paying for the condensate, but it allowed the company to buy the product from BPMigas after a deal was struck during a meeting presided over by Kalla. Sri Mulyani claimed she was not present at the meeting.
Sri Mulyani also said that the government moved to save TPPI because the government held a majority of its shares.
On Tuesday, Victor also dismissed allegations that Kalla was involved in the scandal, saying that investigators would not summon the Vice President.
'I believe that the Vice President is probably not involved. Yes, he may have approved of certain policies or decisions, but TPPI did not fulfill their side of the bargain,' he said.
Separately, Kalla told reporters on Tuesday that TPPI had been tasked with selling the condensate because it was widely known that the refiner was in financial trouble.
'That's why we gave it a job. If it wasn't in bad shape then it didn't need help, did it? So if it's in bad shape we need to give it something to do. The one in the wrong isn't the person who gave them the task, but the party that did not pay up,' he said.
