Nivell Rayda – Corruption cases handled by law enforcement agencies in the first half of the year cost the state nearly 25 percent more in losses than those in the same period last year, a watchdog says.
However, the amount involved in each case fell significantly, with the 176 cases handled from January 1 to June 30 being more than double the 86 cases dealt with in the same period last year.
Indonesia Corruption Watch said on Wednesday it estimated the cases handled so far this year had cost the government Rp 2.1 trillion ($235 million), while the figure for the same period last year was Rp 1.7 trillion.
"Although the number of cases handled doubled this year, most of the cases occurred earlier," said ICW senior researcher Agus Sunaryanto.
Two of the cases were from this year, 32 from 2007, 58 from 2008 and the rest from last year. "The authorities' handling of corruption cases is still very slow," Agus said.
He said the two cases from this year involved sting operations set up by the independent Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The commission had uncovered bribery inside the Jakarta State Administrative High Court and the West Java office of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).
In the first six months of this year, 441 people were named suspects in corruption cases. Businessmen made up the biggest group, with 61 being named.
Fifty-two, or about 12 percent, of the suspects were regional legislators. In the same period last year, this group accounted for about 30 percent of the 217 corruption suspects.
A large chunk of the cases handled this year were connected to the misappropriation of state funds, with ICW estimating the losses from this segment at Rp 596 billion.
Three other areas that made up a large number of cases concerned issuing of licenses (Rp 420 billion), mining (Rp 365 billion) and energy (Rp 140 billion).
The KPK last week released its mid-year report, which showed that nearly half of the 23 cases that had gone to trial this year were related to procurement violations in government projects.
The KPK also handled 10 cases of bribery, while the other three cases involved misappropriation of state funds.
Corruption inside ministries dominated this year's graft investigations, while in 2008 the biggest number of cases handled by the KPK involved members of the House of Representatives.
The KPK said it had managed to save more than Rp 134 billion in state losses this year, compared with Rp 144 billion for the whole of last year. The commission is currently prosecuting 16 cases and investigating 25 others. The KPK is also looking into 29 more cases of alleged corruption.
The Anticorruption Study Center at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta released similar findings on Wednesday, highlighting several major graft cases that had no clear resolution.
In one of the cases examined, the center noted that investigations into the suspiciously large bank accounts of several National Police generals had stalled. Police chiefs claimed they had launched an internal investigation and concluded that most of the accounts were not related to criminal activities.
"The function of asset declaration should be maximized and not simply be a mere formality," said Zainal Arifin Muchtar, a legal expert with the Anticorruption Study Center. "The declaration should be utilized as a preliminary indication of corruption."
He also said an independent body, such as the KPK, should take over the case from police and take action against officers where it was appropriate.