Rizky Amelia & Camelia Pasandaran – The allegations levied against disgraced Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar continued to build on Monday as the Financial Transaction Report and Analysis Center (PPATK) uncovered some Rp 100 billion ($8.9 million) in wire transfers from regional heads in Akil's accounts – a worrying sign that evidence of election fraud may expand beyond races in Banten and Central Kalimantan.
"We suspect many regional heads had transactions [with Akil]," PPATK deputy chair Agus Susanto said at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
The dismissed chief justice already faces allegations of election rigging in district-level races in Lebak, Bantan, and Gunung Mas, Central Kalimantan. Since his arrest a number of additional allegations have surfaced, including claims of suspicious verdicts on contested elections in Riau and Halmahera dating back to 2010.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) first received reports of suspicious transactions in 2010, beginning two years after Akil joined the Constitutional Court as a justice. He has presided over more than 200 cases since his 2008 appointment to the court, one of the highest authorities in Indonesia.
The PPATK's report, which declined to specify names or the number of transactions, discovered suspicious funds in Akil's personal accounts, as well as those registered to companies listed in his name.
"The value is around Rp 100 billion," Agus said. "The PPATK has strongly suspected that the respected person [Akil] was laundering corruption money [through his companies]."
The total adds some credence to claims that Akil had sold off his authority wholesale while manning the bench. In 2010, a district chief in North Sumatra came forward with claims that Akil was extorting local representatives for Rp 1 billion a case when hearing election disputes. The KPK has already claimed that Akil allegedly accepted Rp 4 billion to rig election verdicts for cases in Gunung Mas and Lebak.
Indonesia Corruption Watch urged the KPK to investigate the wire transfers and bring those elected officials before the court.
"Rp 100 billion is a big number, but it is only a temporary finding," said Ade Irawan, a researcher at ICW. "There were many cases brought before the court since 2008, so there might be other [corruption] cases involving Akil."
The Constitutional Court, once seen as one of the nation's few clean organizations, was awarded the power to settle election disputes in 2008, taking over a process once handled by the Supreme Court. The court has heard 608 election cases since it was granted the authority. Akil allegedly presided over one-third of those as part of a three-judge panel.
He was promoted to chief justice in April 2013, following the retirement of former court chief Mafud MD.
Akil's arrest, one of the most significant made by the increasingly bold KPK, served as a stark reminder of the level of graft to permeate Indonesian bureaucracy. The county is routinely ranked as one of the most corrupt places on earth. Graft allegations have reached the upper echelon of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling party and annual reports by ICW allege more than $200 million is lost to corruption in a single year.
The KPK has been given the authority to utilize a previously untapped law on money laundering to track the flow of graft funds in corruption cases. The law was used against Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo to assemble a list of Rp 200 billion in illicit assets bought during the crooked traffic chief's time in power.
KPK deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto said on Saturday that Akil will face similar scrutiny as the antigraft body files both corruption and money laundering charges against the former chief justice. The commission has already confiscated Rp 2.7 billion in mixed currencies, Rp 2 billion in bonds and stocks and three luxury cars. Investigators could conduct further seizures under the authority of the money laundering law.
Akil's lawyer has denied the claims and chastised the KPK for releasing information to the press first.
"If the KPK wants to charge him with an article, they should inform the suspect, instead of telling to the press first," attorney Otto Hasibuan said.
ICW was firm in its push for an exhaustive probe into Akil's wealth. The antigraft watchdog has embarked on an exhaustive investigation of its own into corruption allegations surrounding the political dynasty of Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah following the arrest of her brother over election fraud allegations.
The implications of Akil's alleged actions, which amounts to the sale of the nation's electoral process, raised serious concerns over the integrity of Indonesia's 14-year-old democratic system, Ade said.
"It destroys democracy in Indonesia," he said. "When the regional heads bribed the court, it means they lacked the integrity to lead the regions. The effect [of this corruption] was so huge that it could cause rampant corruption in the regions."