SP/Novianti Setuningsih, Jakarta – The allegations had swirled for years, but when the first solid accusation of corruption was finally leveled at Agriculture Minister Suswono, it wasn't in the case most had expected.
Suswono, from the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, was on Wednesday named in an indictment against graft suspect Anggoro Widjojo, standing trial at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court in connection with a contract to supply radio communications equipment to the Forestry Ministry in 2007.
In their indictment, prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, alleged that Suswono, who back then served on the legislative oversight committee on forestry and agriculture, took a Rp 50 million ($4,300) bribe to approve the procurement of the equipment.
Riyono, a prosecutor, told the court that Anggoro, whose company, Masaro Radiokom, supplied communications equipment, lobbied Suswono's commission to renew its contract for the procurement of the equipment in 2007, after the project had been abandoned in 2004.
"The defendant asked for a help on the budget, because the project had been [abandoned] for years and the defendant promised to give money to members of the House of Representatives' Commission IV," Riyono said.
The commission approved the budget on July 16, 2007, and recommended that the Forestry Ministry rubber-stamp the equipment procurement, which was worth Rp 180 billion.
After the budget approved, Anggoro asked his assistant, David Angkadjaja, to give kickbacks on Aug. 1 to Commission IV chairman Yusuf Erwin Faishal, which the latter then distributed to other commission members, including Suswono, the KPK alleges.
Suswono was questioned by KPK last month during a visit to Central Java, after refusing to come in for questioning to the KPK office in Jakarta. After the questioning, he told reporters that he was not involved in the Forestry Ministry project and could not recall receiving the bribe in question, amid the glut of "deposits," or kickbacks, he had received.
"I did not join the discussion" of the radio equipment procurement, Suswono said as quoted by Detik.com. "During my time at House Commission IV, I submitted Rp 1.2 billion [in received bribes] to the KPK. It's really possible that some of the money I gave to KPK was related to that. I can't recall them all because there were some 'deposits' given to me."
Suswono has long been the subject of speculation about corruption, primarily over last year's high-profile case centering on the issuance of a permit to import beef into the country.
The PKS president at the time, Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in arranging a massive kickback from the importing company, while other high-ranking party officials have been implicated in money-laundering linked to the flow of the dirty money.
The permit was issued by Suswono's office, but the minister was never formally named a suspect in the case, despite being questioned about it by the KPK.
The antigraft body has also grilled him over an allegation that he took a Rp 300 million while serving on House Commission IV to push through a permit for the construction of a port in protected land in Tanjung Api-Api in Banyuasin district, South Sumatra.
Yusuf, the commission chairman, was in 2009 sentenced to four and a half years in prison in that case. Suswono admitted to taking the money, but claimed he had handed it over to KPK investigators and was thus not liable to any charges.
Article 12 of the 1999 Anti-Corruption Law includes an amnesty provision, allowing anyone in a position of accountability who receives a bribe to hand the money over to the KPK within 30 days without facing any charges. Once that period has expired, however, corruption charges are applicable. It remains unclear whether Suswono handed over the money within the 30-day window.
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/agriculture-minister-suswono-accused-radio-equipment-graft-case/