Hotman Siregar & Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has enlisted the help of an antigraft watchdog to scrutinize the wealth and business dealings of several Jakarta administration officials flagged for having suspiciously large bank accounts.
The request was made to Indonesia Corruption Watch, a nongovernmental group, following the announcement last week by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the state graft-buster, that it would launch an investigation into former governor Fauzi Bowo over similar findings during his five years in office.
The KPK's move is a follow-up to a report submitted by the Financial Transactions Report and Analysis Center, or PPATK, which says it has discovered 20 suspicious transactions in the bank accounts of around a dozen regional executives, including in Jakarta.
The report, a copy of which was also sent to the Attorney General's Office, was based on an analysis of the officials' wealth as of the end of 2012.
The KPK is reportedly handling two cases involving so-called fat bank accounts, including that of Fauzi, while the AGO is studying eight cases involving smaller amounts of money.
ICW coordinator Ade Irawan said on Monday that Basuki had specifically asked the watchdog to scrutinize the wealth and activities of city officials implicated in the PPATK report.
"Ahok has asked ICW to help monitor, check and track [the wealth and activities] of the officials," Ade said in Jakarta, referring to Basuki by his nickname. "Basically we're [also] scrutinizing their lifestyle." Ade declined to identify the officials being scrutinized.
Fauzi, now the Indonesian ambassador to Germany, had Rp 60 billion ($4.8 million) in his bank accounts that the PPATK linked to dubious transfers of funds from overseas between February and December 2012 – a period during which he also ran for re-election, only to lose to the ticket of Joko Widodo and Basuki. Joko left office this year after winning the presidential election.
"[The KPK] must make sure where the [money] came from. Is it permissible or forbidden money?" Ade said of Fauzi's case. "If [Fauzi] received it in connection to his position as the governor, the money could be considered a gratuity."
At least 10 former and current public servants with the Jakarta administration have been named suspects in several corruption cases, including two urban ward heads and a former head of the Jakarta Communications and Information Technology Office.
Although some are still working in Basuki's administration, the suspicious transactions through their accounts reportedly occurred during Fauzi's term in office, which ran from 2007 until 2012.
The PPATK's findings offer further proof that corruption has devolved from the central government to regional seats of power, says Hifdzil Alim, a researcher with the Center for Anti-Corruption Studies at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University.
Hifdzil said on Monday that with the KPK only having an office in Jakarta and no regional branches, it was unlikely that most of these graft cases would go unchecked.
The KPK is the only law enforcement institution in Indonesia that has gained strong public trust in tackling corruption, with the other two authorities, the National Police and the AGO, ironically deemed to be among the most corrupt public institutions in the land.
"The KPK and the AGO must coordinate in investigating the fat bank accounts, and involve the National Police if they must," Hifdzil said. "Law enforcement officers must swiftly take action to examine those fat bank accounts."
ICW's coordinator for legal affairs, Emerson Yuntho, said on Sunday that Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo's response to the PPATK report would be the first real test of his commitment to fighting corruption.
President Joko's appointment of Prasetyo last month was widely panned by critics as a political favor. Prasetyo, a career prosecutor until his retirement from the AGO in 2006, was for the past few years a member of the National Democrat Party (NasDem), which is part of Joko's ruling coalition.
"Before his inauguration, Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo had no achievements whatsoever [during his time in the AGO]," Emerson said. "These fat bank account cases will test his commitment to law enforcement."
Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/jakarta/basuki-asks-icw-keep-eye-jakarta-officials/