Nivell Rayda – The National Police on Monday maintained that there was so far no evidence that businesses linked to Golkar Party Chairman Aburizal Bakrie had bribed an allegedly crooked tax official to avoid paying taxes, even though Aburizal himself has demanded police investigate the claims.
Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said former tax official Gayus Tambunan, who is currently being investigated for corruption and money-laundering, had links to a total of 149 companies.
"These are the companies that Gayus handled, and so far four of these companies will be investigated further," he said, stressing that PT Kaltim Prima Coal, PT Arutmin Indonesia and PT Bumi Resources, subsidiaries of the Bakrie Group that were reportedly implicated by Gayus, were not among those being investigated.
In a police report to the House of Representatives, the four companies being investigated were identified as PT Surya Alam Tunggal Sidoarjo, PT Dowell Anadrill Schlumberger, PT Indocement and PT Exelcomindo – none of which are linked to Bakrie family businesses.
Aburizal over the weekend called on police to investigate the bribery allegations raised by Gayus, who reportedly told police detectives last week that several companies linked to the Bakrie Group had bribed him to deal with their tax affairs.
"Was there someone who instructed [Gayus] to issue such a statement?" the tycoon said on Saturday, adding that he believed he had become the target of a smear campaign.
His statement came a day after the National Police did an about-face, saying they had no plans to investigate Bakrie Group companies. The day before, the police chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi, said the accusation stemmed from police questioning of Gayus.
The Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force has also said that Gayus mentioned the alleged Bakrie connection when he surrendered to the task force in Singapore in March.
"We had heard about Gayus's remarks to the task force, but that information has not been received by the National Police," Edward said on Monday. Gayus's lawyer, Pia Akbar Nasution, however, said on Sunday that her client had told the police absolutely everything.
"But I am bound by the ethics of my profession not to reveal the content of an ongoing police investigation," she added. The lawyer declined to comment on reports that KPC, Arutmin and Bumi were tied to Gayus and that they allegedly paid him $7 million to avoid taxes.
"I'm not in the position to confirm or deny those reports, because everything he said was directed to his investigators," the lawyer said.
Indonesia Corruption Watch deputy chairman, Adnan Topan Husodo also said that police should begin investigating Gayus's claims. "Gayus's statement should not be overlooked," he said. "In light of the new testimony, police should launch fresh investigations into the alleged tax evasion and bribery."