T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named Ruslan Abdul Gani, the regent of Bener Meriah in Aceh, as the latest suspect in a high-profile corruption case surrounding a ship loading dock development project in Sabang, Aceh.

The case revolves around an alleged budget markup of the construction of a loading dock built from 2006 to 2011 in Sabang'€™s free trade area.

Ruslan served as head of the area'€™s management agency from 2010 to 2011.

'€œRuslan Abdul Gani is suspected of having violated Article 2, paragraph 1 and Article 3 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption,'€ KPK acting commissioner Johan Budi told a press conference on Tuesday at the commission'€™s headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

Johan said the project, which was funded by the state budget, had caused an estimated Rp 116 billion (US$8.6 million) in state losses.

When asked whether the project was tied to a certain ministry or not, Johan declined to give more details.

In its investigation into the case, the KPK questioned former administrative reform minister Azwar Abubakar in early March last year. There has been speculation that Azwar also played a role in the case as he was acting Aceh governor when the alleged corruption occurred.

Besides the alleged budget markup, Rusli is also suspected to have appointed PT Nindya Karya as the winner of the tender without going through a proper tender process.

Heru Sulaksono, head of the North Sumatra and Aceh Branch of PT Nindya Karya, who is also the authority for the PT Nindya Sejati Joint Operation, is serving nine years in prison for his role in the case.

Even though the company failed to complete the project, Heru still received full payment.

Meanwhile, Ramadhani Ismy, the official in charge of commitment letters for the Work Committee of the Free Trade Seaport Area Development (BPKS), was sentenced to six years imprisonment by the Jakarta Corruption Court in December 2014, for his role in the project.

In the verdict, he was proven guilty of committing graft together with Ruslan as they unfairly appointed PT Nindya Sejati as the winner of the tender.

In 2006, Ramadhani created a document stating that the tender winner had finished the first stage of the project even though that was not the case, enriching Heru by Rp 2.6 billion and a local company that worked together with Heru, PT Tuah Sejati, by Rp 396 million.

Ramadhani and Heru repeated this tactic until 2011, when the former benefitted Rp 3.2 billion and the latter got Rp 34 billion from the project.

The government has been striving to speed up the development of the free trade zone in Sabang on Weh Island, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province.