Fidelis E. Satriastanti – The Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force announced on Friday it had studied a report implicating up to 12 public officials in a major illegal logging case and would now work with law enforcement agencies to take action.
The report, submitted by a coalition of antigraft and environmental activists, alleged that officials including a governor, four district heads, two police officers and a Forestry Ministry official were involved in illegal logging in Riau province.
The allegations stem from the Riau Police's issuance in 2008 of a letter known as an SP3 to halt an investigation into 13 companies suspected of involvement in illegal logging.
In 2009, they issued an SP3 for a 14th company, effectively ending the two-year investigation. However, the coalition of activists accused the authorities of conspiring with the legal mafia in issuing the SP3s.
Mas Achmad Santosa, a member of the task force, said they had finalized their report on the SP3s and would work with four institutions to get to the bottom of why the letters were issued.
"The KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] will look into the graft angle, while we'll speak with the police chief who issued the SP3s, the attorney general and the Forestry Ministry," he said.
Febridiansyah, the legal coordinator for Indonesia Corruption Watch, said his organization was part of the coalition that submitted the report to the task force shortly after the latter was formed with the mandate to go after the legal mafia operating in the forestry sector.
"It's been 10 months, so we're here now to collect on that promise," he said. "We're not just looking for the SP3s to be revoked, we want all the companies involved to be investigated by the KPK in light of the corruption revealed by the case of Tengku Azmun Djaafar."
Azmun, the former head of Pelalawan district in Riau province, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for issuing logging permits to 15 underqualified companies, including six fictitious businesses that he created himself.
He then sold the fake companies, along with their permits, to logging giants Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper and Indah Kiat.
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) estimated the state losses and environmental damage as a result of Tengku's actions at Rp 1.2 trillion ($136 million).
Two of the 14 companies initially investigated by the Riau Police were implicated in the Pelalawan case, while the others were implicated in similar scams in other districts in the province.
"Azmun's case should be used by KPK to get to any other suspects because [the process] was similar and the precedent has been set," Febri said.