Jakarta – A group of activists lodged a complaint against Harry Azhar Azis, the chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency, or BPK, to the body's ethics committee after Harry's name appeared in the so-called Panama Papers.
The activists – representing some of the country's most prominent antigraft watchdogs, including Transparency International Indonesia, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and Indonesia Budget Center (IBC) – said Harry had violated the agency's code of ethics by not fully disclosing his wealth and being involved in a private firm, which could create a conflict of interest.
Roy Salam of the IBC said it was not ethical that Harry, who is tasked with ensuring transparency and accountability in all government institutions, established and ran a company based in a tax haven when Indonesia was trying to prevent tax evasion and the hiding of assets offshore.
"As the BPK chairman, [Harry] cannot hold multiple positions in other agencies or private companies," Roy said, as quoted by Tempo.co.
Harry "has also violated the law by not fully disclosing his wealth and assets to the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK]," Roy continued, something that all senior public officials must do before they take office.
The activists arrived at the BPK offices in South Jakarta at 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday (26/04) to lodge their complaint.
Harry has been in hot water after Tempo magazine unveiled his name this month as the owner of Sheng Yue International Limited, which had been set up with the help of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The law firm was the source of the so-called Panama Papers, the largest leak of financial records to date, which shed light on tax scandals involving public officials, corporations and the rich and the famous all across the world.
On April 15, Harry told the tax office that he sold his offshore company for HK$1 (13 US cents) last year, claiming that he did not use the company to avoid tax.
Harry claimed that he established Sheng Yue in 2010 when he was still a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, to help a family business. But the business venture was later canceled, prompting him to disown the company.
The BPK chairman also claimed the company has no assets, arguing that he set up the paper company only to simplify cross-border transactions and to save costs. The finance ministry's Directorate General of Tax is still verifying Harry's claims.
The Panama Papers have revealed the names of several graft fugitives and senior Indonesian officials, including that of Coordinating Legal and Security Minister Luhut Pandjaitan.