Jakarta – After several weeks, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has resumed investigation of graft in the construction of the Rp 2.5 trillion (US$265 million) Hambalang sports complex in Bogor, West Java.
Riyadi, a driver for the family of Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, was the first to be questioned on Monday night as KPK investigators resumed their probe.
According to the commission's spokesman, Johan Budi, Riyadi was not summoned to provide information on Youth and Sports Ministry official Deddy Kusdinar, the only suspect to have been named by the KPK in the scandal.
"We're launching another inquiry into the same case," Johan said. The investigation would not stop at Deddy, according to Johan, who said that the commission would name other suspects if it later found adequate evidence.
Johan's statement echoed the earlier words of KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjajanto, who said that Deddy was merely "the first rung of the ladder".
The KPK named Deddy, the chief of the financial and internal affairs bureau of the Youth and Sports Ministry, as suspect in the investigation in July.
The KPK previously summoned Riyadi to talk about a car owned by Anas that was allegedly given to him by state-owned construction firm PT Adhi Karya, the company that won the tender to build the sports center.
Former Democratic Party treasurer and disgraced lawmaker Muhammad Nazaruddin, who was convicted in another graft scandal, has accused Anas of playing a major role in the Hambalang project, which was launched by the Youth and Sports Ministry in 2010.
Nazaruddin testified that Anas accepted a Toyota Harrier vehicle from PT Adhi Karya. Investigators twice questioned Anas in July in connection to the Hambalang scandal and are expected to summon him again.
KPK has also summoned Anas' wife, Athiyyah Laila, who was a commissioner at PT Dutasari Citralaras between 2008 and 2009. The firm was hired as a sub-contractor for the sports center by PT Adhi Karya.
Nazaruddin's statements have implicated several important figures in the scandal, including Anas, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng and several lawmakers on House Commission X overseeing sports and the House budget committee.
Nazaruddin also alleged that Andi told ministry secretary Wafid Muharam that PT Adhi Karya would handle the project.
Johan said that investigators would follow the money in the graft probe and focus on how land certificates were issued and materials procured in the Hambalang project.
Investigators from the KPK raided seven locations in July in connection with the case, including the offices of the Youth and Sports Ministry's planning division in Central Jakarta and Cibubur, construction firms PT Adhi Karya and PT Wijaya Karya and the East Jakarta Public Works Agency.
Investigators have questioned dozens of witnesses about the role of Deddy and up to 10 other potential suspect. However, Johan said that the commission was not scheduled to summon Anas again.
KPK deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas earlier said that investigators had yet to make a breakthrough in their probe. "In time we will be able to predict what will happen. As for now we make no significant progress yet. The case is ongoing," Busyro said. (cor)