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Customs in KPK crosshairs over extravagant lifestyles
High-profile former official sorry for ‘eroding public trust’ in government.
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he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) continued its crusade against misconduct in the public sector on Tuesday by interrogating former Yogyakarta Customs and Excise Office head Eko Darmanto over the provenance of his wealth, which he has been accused of flaunting on social media.
Speaking to the press after 8.5 hours of questioning at the KPK offices in South Jakarta, Eko apologized to the public while also claiming that he had not meant to show off his wealth to a wide audience.
“I apologize if my actions have eroded public trust in the Finance Ministry and the Customs and Excise Directorate General,” he was quoted by kompas.com as saying.
“However, I only shared the pictures of my [lifestyle] on my private Instagram account. Somebody must have stolen the pictures, leaked them to the public and framed it as me flaunting my wealth.”
Screenshots of Eko’s social media posts, including ones that show him riding expensive cruiser motorcycles and flying a Cessna aircraft, have circulated on social media in recent weeks, sparking a public outcry against the apparent excess and prompting the antigraft body to launch a probe into the sources of his wealth.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has relieved Eko of his official duties for the length of the investigation.
A day before the interrogation, KPK commissioner for graft prevention Pahala Nainggolan said investigators had found Eko’s huge sums of debt and private collection of antique cars suspicious, considering he was not among the upper echelons of the Yogyakarta’s tax office.
“Eko earned roughly Rp 500 million per year from his job as a civil servant, but we found that his debt continued to pile up, reaching billions of rupiah,” Pahala said on Tuesday, noting the official’s possession of two houses and several cars that he thought “could be worth a fortune”.
In the wealth report Eko submitted to the KPK in December of 2021, he listed his total wealth as Rp 6.7 billion (US$435,500), with debt amounting to Rp 9 billion.
Among his assets were two houses, one in Jakarta and one in Magelang, Central Java, as well as nine antique cars, including a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, a 1957 Dodge Fargo and a 1972 Ford Bronco – all hard to find in Indonesia.
Afterward, Pahala told The Jakarta Post that Tuesday’s interrogation had gone “very smoothly”, adding that the agency would announce its findings on Wednesday.
More involvement
Eko was the second civil servant from the Finance Ministry to be questioned by the KPK for appearing to be unusually wealthy for his position. Last week, graft busters summoned the former head of general affairs at a tax office in Jakarta, Rafael Alun Trisambodo, to inquire about the sources of his wealth.
The government and the KPK have been clamping down on the luxurious lifestyles of some civil servants following public furor over an aggravated assault against a minor by Rafael’s son, Mario Dandy Satrio, on Feb. 20.
Photos and videos of Mario’s extravagant lifestyle, as well as his father’s Rp 56 billion in reported wealth, came to light in the days following the reported assault, raising questions about where the money had come from.
With the scandal occurring just as the nation enters its annual tax filing season, growing public disillusionment fueled more investigations by online sleuths, who began a hunt for others who seemed to be enjoying wealth beyond what their public office could provide.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has instructed state officials to stop showing off their wealth on social media.
Following Rafael’s questioning, the KPK said it had concluded its preliminary investigations and was probing further into Rafael’s case, noting an indication that other tax officials could be involved in concealing illicit wealth, state news agency Antara reported.
Separately, Finance Ministry Inspector General Awan Nurmawan Nuh said the ministry would soon fire Rafael from his job, after finding him guilty of “a serious violation” in the ministry’s internal investigation.
“We have finished auditing Rafael’s wealth. We found him to have committed a serious disciplinary violation,” Awan said on Tuesday, as quoted by kontan.co.id. He declined to specify what that violation was.
Previously, Sri Mulyani suspended Rafael from his position but rejected his offer to resign, considering he was still under investigation over the source of his wealth.
The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) previously froze over 40 bank accounts worth Rp 500 billion possibly linked to Rafael, including accounts belonging to his personal tax consultants and members of his family, on suspicion of money laundering.
