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Officers' fat bank account case is closed, national police chief

Source
Jakarta Globe - December 29, 2010

National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said the case involving the huge bank accounts of senior police officers is closed and he will not reopen it.

"I think it's already been explained by Pak Bambang Hendarso [former national police chief]," Timur said in a press conference about the evaluation of the national police's performance in 2010 at the headquarters on Wednesday.

In October, the country's leading antigraft watchdog, Indonesian Corruption Watch, filed a complaint against the police for refusing to publicly release details of their investigation into suspiciously large bank accounts linked to high-ranking police officers.

The case centers around a classified document from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), which found suspicious accounts belonging to 23 officers.

The police have since cleared 17 of them of any wrongdoing and said the rest are still under investigation.

The case made headlines after Tempo weekly magazine published the story in one of their July issues. The magazine's cover sparked anger from then National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, who called it 'offensive.'

The cover depicted a police officer leading three piggy banks on a leash, under the title "Rekening Gendut Perwira Polisi" ("Fat Bank Accounts of Police Officers").

"We're not against criticism being directed at us," Bambang Hendarso Danuri said. "We just want some motivation and support rather than criticism."

"Pork is haram [forbidden] in Islamic belief," Bambang said. "I'm just trying to prevent my subordinates from expressing their anger, even though we feel insulted."

A day after the magazine's publication, three Molotov cocktails were thrown at the offices of Tempo. Two people wearing black jackets and riding a motorcycle were seen throwing the firebombs at the magazine's editorial offices on Jalan Proklamasi in Menteng, Central Jakarta, early on Tuesday morning.

Police have no suspects in the attack.

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