Jakarta – Former State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, a suspect in the controversial 2004 sale of two very large crude carriers (VLCC) belonging to state oil company Pertamina, has broken his silence on the identity of other state officials involved in the case.
A lawyer for Laksamana said his client had asked the Attorney General's Office to summon former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and ex-finance minister Boediono to testify as witnesses in the corruption case.
"The presence of Megawati and Boediono in the questioning session is significant and this will help our client to explain the background behind the decision to sell the tankers," Petrus Selestinus told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
"Not a day passed without Laksamana discussing the sale with the two," he said.
Petrus said Megawati should explain to the investigators why she allowed Laksamana to approve the sale at that time. "Laksamana is now a suspect in the case which Megawati and Boediono were familiar with... Therefore, she and Boediono should also take the responsibility for the case," he said.
Laksamana was state minister for state enterprises and president commissioner of Pertamina when the sale took place.
Megawati is now the chairwoman of the country's second largest political party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, while Boediono is now coordinating minister for the economy.
Accompanied by a team of lawyers, Laksamana was questioned at the Attorney General's Office for nearly eight hours Thursday. Outside the office, hundreds of supporters from the Democratic Reform Party staged a protest condemning the prosecutors' decision to name Laksamana as a suspect. Laksamana was scheduled to be questioned again Friday.
Also questioned Thursday were two former Pertamina directors, Ariffi Nawawi and Alfred Rohimone, who are also suspects in the case. Petrus had earlier said that the case was political, alleging that Laksamana had been targeted by opponents from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.
The potential state losses due to the sale of the two VLCC tankers by Pertamina to Bermuda-based Frontline Inc. for US$184 million in 2004 emerged after an audit was conducted by Indonesia's Financial and Development Supervisory Board and the independent consultant Japan Marine that year.
The audit brought into light that the initial purchase of the two VLCC tankers for US$130 million in 2002 was appropriate and in line with existing regulations, but questioned the sale of the same tankers only two years later for US$184 million.
Besides the audit result, some parties had pointed out mistakes in the transaction, citing the absence of the approval of the then minister of finance, who acted as the country's treasurer.
Based on the audit and the allegations of Laksamana having endorsed an illegal transaction, Pertamina Workers Union then reported the tankers' sale to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
The KPK announced this year that it had found no indications of graft in the transaction after two years of investigation. The investigation has now been taken over by the Attorney General's Office. (dic)