Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office announced on Tuesday night that it had named suspects in a corruption case implicating former Democratic Party treasurer and lawmaker Muhammad Nazaruddin, who is believed to have used his political influence to rig tenders for government projects.
The AGO is now investigating alleged corruption surrounding a procurement project worth Rp 417.73 billion (US$46.37 million) at the Health Ministry. The case is linked to a company owned by Nazaruddin, who has been named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in another case.
The case handled by the AGO centers on the ministry's 2009 procurement of medical educational-aid tools for general doctors and specialists, a contract which was won by Nazaruddin's firm.
AGO spokesman Noor Rachmad said on Wednesday that the agency's special crimes department had named three suspects in the case: Widianto Aim, an official of the ministry's human resources development and empowerment body who served on the procurement committee; his subordinate Syamsul Bahri and Bantu Marpaung, the director of PT Buana Ramosari Gemilang (BRG).
BRG, a general company that won the procurement tender, belongs to Nazaruddin who has been charged with bribery in connection with a Rp 191 billion construction project at the Youth and Sports Ministry.
"The suspects allegedly colluded to orchestrate an unfair tender process," Noor said.
According to a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) report, of which The Jakarta Post obtained a copy, the irregularities in the tender process had cost the state Rp 28.56 billion. The estimated state losses were equal to 6.84 percent of the total project value.
The three suspects have been charged under the 2001 AntiCorruption Law which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in jail, according to Noor. The AGO had been investigating the case since July, he added.
In August, the National Police's corruption directorate said that it had also begun investigating the same case with Syamsul as the only suspect at the time. The case was also under the KPK's observation but the country's top antigraft body has yet to initiate a full-blown investigation into it.
The BPK audits also exposed peculiarities given that BRG, an unknown general company, had won the bid against experienced corporations such as state-run pharmaceuticals giant PT Kimia Farma, PT Rajawali Nusindo and PT Indofarma Global Medika.
Another case of alleged graft at the Health Ministry involves a 2007 procurement of medical equipment for the ministry's crisis-countermeasures center worth Rp 40 billion.
Then head of the center, Rustam S. Pakaya who now serves as a director at the Dharmais cancer hospital in Jakarta, has been named a suspect.
KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the case had caused Rp 6.8 billion in state losses. The preliminary evidence of Rustam's illicit role was found during the investigation into another graft case at the ministry, according to Johan.
That case, investigated since 2010, concerned the alleged markup of a 2006 procurement of health equipment for bird-flu patients. The KPK named a former ministry official, Ratna Dewi Umar, as a suspect in May 2010.
More leaked documents reveal that Nazaruddin's firms controlled ministry projects for years. Sources said Nazaruddin controlled more than 100 firms that acted as proxies by bidding on government projects which they would then subcontract to larger companies.