T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Wednesday confirmed that it had transferred its probe into state port operator PT Pelindo II to the National Police'€™s Criminal Investigations Directorate (Bareskrim).

Interim KPK commissioner Indriyanto Seno Adji said that the antigraft body had authorized the National Police to take over the case and would only contribute by monitoring the investigation.

'€œYes, it is true and we will maintain coordination with Bareskrim to oversee the case,'€ Indriyanto told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Indriyanto declined to give details on why and when the KPK made the decision.

This is the third time the KPK under the leadership of Taufiequ-rachman Ruki has handed over a graft probe to another law enforcement agency.

Earlier this year the KPK came under fire for handing over its probe into the graft cases involving National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan and the Hambalang sports complex to the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO).

The police later took over Budi'€™s case from the AGO and cleared him off the charges.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Emerson Yuntho criticized Ruki'€™s controversial decision to effect another transfer of responsibility. '€œThe KPK should give clear arguments behind its decision to transfer the case,'€ he said.

In its investigation into PT Pelindo II, the KPK summoned the company'€™s president director RJ Lino in April 2014 after circulating documents revealed irregularities of more than US$20 million in the purchase of equipment by the country'€™s biggest seaport operator.

Audit documents dated from 2011 from the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), copies of which were obtained by The Jakarta Post in 2014, indicated foul play in the purchase of three container cranes in 2010 for three ports in Palembang, South Sumatra, Pontianak, West Kalimantan and Lampung.

The documents suggested several violations, including in the direct appointment of Chinese company Wuxi Huadong Heavy Machinery (HDHM) to supply the cranes at a cost of $17 million.

'€œThe procurement process from direct selection [in February 2010] to the direct appointment [negotiations were completed in April 2010] of HDHM did not go through the proper mechanism,'€ the BPKP said in the document.

Pelindo II labor union head Kirnoto confirmed the incident and hoped that the KPK could expand its investigation into other violations, including in the procurement of 10 mobile cranes worth Rp 45 billion for nine of Pelindo'€™s ports in 2012.

'€œThere are so many financial violations stemming from Lino'€™s policies,'€ Kirnoto alleged.

The mobile crane purchase, according to a document from an independent auditor, was given to China'€™s Guangxi Narishi Century Equipment Co. Ltd., a relatively new company.

The company also failed, for three years running, to comply with a requirement to submit financial reports.

On Wednesday, Bareskrim chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso said investigators had found new evidence to prove that there had been foul play in the procurement of the cranes.

'€œWe questioned two expert witnesses today about the types of cranes purchased. [Based on the testimonies] we have found that the procurement was not planned well and the specifications of the cranes do not fit the standard,'€ he said.