W

itnesses at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday confirmed that PT Media Karya Sentosa company had paid a total of Rp 30 billion (US$2.26 million) in compensation and Rp 79 billion in commitment fees to Bangkalan regency-owned company PD Sumber Daya in connection with the multimillion dollar gas project secured by former Bangkalan regent Fuad Amin Imron for Media Karya in 2007.

Former Sumber Daya director Abdul Hakim testified during the trial of Media Karya director Antonius Bambang Djatmiko that the commitment fees were paid in installments of Rp 1.5 billion, which were transferred to Sumber Daya from Media Karya every month.

'€œTotal compensation money was Rp 30 billion and the monthly fee was Rp 1.5 billion, paid in installments,'€ Abdul Hakim said at the court.

Abdul said Sumber Daya issued an invoice every month to Media Karya, whose office was located in Gresik, East Java.

Meanwhile, Abdul said, the Rp 30 billion in compensation was paid to Sumber Daya in installments in 2011.

Another witness, Abdul Razak, who was the former director of Sumber Daya, said Fuad asked Sumber Daya to open a '€œspecial'€ bank account, from which the former regent could withdraw the dirty money himself directly from Sumber Daya.

'€œAs soon as the money arrived from Media Karya each month, Fuad, through Tomy, [former deputy director of Bangkalan hospital] would ask whether it had been sent or not,'€ Razak said.

The KPK in December arrested Fuad accepting bribes from Antonius in connection with the gas contract he signed back in 2007, since when the KPK said the former regent began receiving illegal money from Sumber Daya.