Nivell Rayda – The Corruption Eradication Commission is struggling to find indications of graft linked to accounts holding Rp 95 billion ($10.5 million) allegedly belonging to a National Police two-star general, a source said on Sunday.
Indonesia Corruption Watch last month told the commission, also known as the KPK, there were signs of bribery and gifts connected to two Bank Central Asia accounts said to belong to a senior officer identified only as BG and another belonging to BG's son.
"We have looked at the claims and the allegations of bribery and gratuity are hard to prove," the KPK source told the Jakarta Globe. "We haven't seen any evidence that could link the money to his duties and position inside the police force."
But KPK spokesman Johan Budi said there had not yet been a formal investigation. "The complaint is still being handled by our public complaints department," he said.
"At this stage we are looking at secondary data available from the public and data already owned by the KPK like [BG's] asset declaration. So we haven't made any plans to solicit information from witnesses."
ICW researcher Tama Satriya Langkun told the Globe the watchdog also was also having a hard time linking the source of BG's wealth to his position at the National Police. "The KPK should request data from the PPATK to trace the money flow," Tama said, in reference to the Financial Transactions Report and Analysis Center.
The PPATK is tasked with combating money-laundering and has access to virtually all financial institutions in the country.
"We think the bribery involves at least four layers of transactions. The KPK and the PPATK should trace where the money went," Tama said.
Although ICW never identified him by name, National Police chief of internal affairs Insp. Gen. Budi Gunawan has said he was considering reporting the watchdog for defamation.
"Allegations of the accounts are untrue," he said. "The accusations are slander and a bid to weaken and assassinate my character and that of the National Police."
According to a PPATK document obtained by the Globe, on Aug. 2, 2005, Budi's accounts received Rp 29 billion in cash, while his son Herviano Widyatama got Rp 25 billion a day earlier.
The document also named two companies recorded as having transferred funds into the accounts – PT Masindo and PT Sumber Jaya Indah.
A police source close to the investigation said property developer Masindo in 2004 planned to build an apartment block on land belonging to the National Police. It failed to secure a deal and in 2006 some investors reported the company for fraud.
Sumber Jaya is a lead smelter operating in Bangka-Belitung and in 2007 was accused of buying lead from illegal miners.
The company appears to have transferred Rp 8.9 billion to Herviano's account from Dec. 5-14, 2007, while Masindo transferred Rp 1.5 billion to Herviano on Nov. 17, 2006, the PPATK document suggests.
From 2005 to 2008, Budi was chief of the National Police School for Advance Learning, or Selapa, and was not handling any cases.
"It is uncommon for someone who holds a position in the human resource development field to receive illicit funds," Bambang Widodo Umar, a University of Indonesia legal expert and a retired police officer, told the Globe. "Areas that are prone to bribery are usually in the crime investigation fields."
Selapa teaches technical skills to middle-ranking officers, particularly those who fail to enter the Police Institute, which focuses more on academic studies.
"Although a Selapa chief comes into contact with future district police chiefs, he does not have the authority to decide on their career advancement," Bambang said. "So it is not likely that he had the power to influence an investigation of a case."
The Globe's attempts to contact Budi for comment on Sunday went unanswered. The KPK source, however, said it was still investigating allegations of Budi under reporting his assets.
In Budi's 2009 asset declaration, a copy of which was obtained by the Globe, he stated that he had Rp 363 million in cash and Rp 4.3 billion in assets.
The KPK recorded Budi has two houses in South Jakarta. Budi declared they were valued at Rp 2.3 billion. A source close to the police general told the Globe one of the houses was in the Cilandak area of South Jakarta, where land costs between Rp 5 million and Rp 7.5 million per square meter.
Budi also declared having 12 properties in Subang, West Java, ranging from 1,623 square meters to 21,270 square meters. Budi reported the properties as being valued at between Rp 5.6 million and Rp 74 million each.
The Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force said it was preparing a regulation on reverse burden of proof on asset declaration.
The provision would enable law enforcers to temporarily seize public officials' questionable assets until it was proven in a court of law that they were obtained legally.
"We are conducting research and seeking references from other countries where the provision is enacted," task force member Mas Achmad Santosa said.