Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri is said to be considering replacing Indonesian Attorney-General M.A. Rachman after auditors questioned him for allegedly concealing assets worth billions of rupiah.
He has also been under fire since early this year for his poor record in following up on corruption cases.
On Wednesday night, Mr Rachman was summoned to the presidential palace and reportedly censured over the graft allegations that have surfaced against him.
Earlier in the day, he had appeared before members of the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission to respond to its finding that he had failed to declare in his wealth report a South Jakarta luxury home, worth billions, and 800 million rupiah in bank deposits.
Commission member Chairul Imam said Mr Rachman claimed that he had bought the house in 1999 and then transferred ownership to his daughter the following year. She in turn sold it last January. But since the sale had not been completed, it was still under his daughter's name, he said.
Local media reports have cast doubts on the authenticity of the sale because the buyer of the house is the father of a well-known broker who often acts as a middle-man in court to help clients win cases.
Mr Rachman also claimed that the house was bought using money received as wedding gifts for his daughter several years ago. But the commission noted that her lavish wedding was held last July, long after the purchase of the house.
He also said that the 800 million rupiah in bank deposits had been a gift from a businessman whose name he claimed to have forgotten, although he insisted the money had nothing to do with any legal case.
According to the assets form he filed with the commission, his total wealth amounts to 2.1 billion rupiah and foreign currency holdings of US$29,600. This includes property worth 880 million rupiah, cars worth 690 million rupiah and 545.6 million rupiah in cash.
Committee members said that even his official report had glaring irregularities.
Mr Chairul told The Straits Times: "With his official earnings of less than 100 million rupiah a year, it is hard to justify his affluence." He said the commission would conduct further investigations before reporting its findings to Ms Megawati.
Influential members of the ruling Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) have been pushing for Mr Rachman's removal since early this year, citing his poor performance in handling graft cases.
Among them are several cases involving the misuse of 130.6 trillion rupiah worth of central bank credit facilities by Indonesian tycoons.
State prosecutors had demanded short sentences of no more than two years for the tycoons, despite the massive financial losses of the state. The weak indictment had also helped some tycoons to get off the hook.
A PDI-P official told The Straits Times that the party was concerned that its poor track record could affect Ms Megawati's performance. He said: "But if Mr Rachman was found guilty of graft, she would eventually replace him."