Attorney General's Office criticized over Pertamina corruption probe<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Legislators lambasted the Attorney General's Office for being
\nslow in the investigation of alleged corruption cases in the
\ncountry's oil and gas projects.<\/p>\n
Emir Moeis, chairman of the House of Representatives special
\ncommittee for the investigation of alleged corruption at the
\nstate-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina, said that the two
\ninstitutions had not been serious in their investigative work.<\/p>\n
"The investigation began in 1999, but all the cases remain
\nunresolved," Emir told reporters on Thursday on the sidelines of
\na hearing with Pertamina.<\/p>\n
The House set up the committee last year to conduct its own
\ninvestigation into the corruption cases.<\/p>\n
During the more than 30-year rule of former president
\nSoeharto, many state-owned companies like Pertamina had been
\ntreated as cash cows through various corrupt practices such as
\nmarking up the cost of the projects to benefit certain powerful
\npeople.<\/p>\n
Emir said that Pertamina handed over some 159 corruption cases
\nin 1999 to the Attorney General's Office for further
\ninvestigation, but a year later the office declared that only 22
\ncases could be investigated. It said that there was not enough
\nevidence in the remaining cases.<\/p>\n
However, the Attorney General's Office has investigated only
\nthree cases so far including the Exor-1 Balongan oil refinery
\nproject, the Trans Java Pipelines, and the Technical Assistance
\nContract oil and gas exploration in East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Former minister of mines and energy Ginandjar Kartasasmita had
\nallegedly been involved in the last case.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's Office argued that it could not
\ncomplete the investigation on the Exor-I project because the
\nDevelopment Finance Comptroller (BPKP) had not concluded its
\nfinancial investigation.<\/p>\n
But Emir said that BPKP was now in doubt whether the state had
\nreally suffered financial losses in the project.<\/p>\n
The investigation into the Trans Java Pipelines project became
\ncontroversial because the Attorney General's Office had planned
\nto drop the investigation, citing lack of evidence, Emir said.<\/p>\n
Legislators also criticized the office for its lack of
\ncooperation with the House investigating committee.<\/p>\n
"While we were trying to take a closer look at the Ginandjar
\ncase, the Attorney General's Office officials claimed that some
\nof the files had been damaged by termites," said legislator
\nSudarto.<\/p>\n
"What kind of termites could damage a computer disc?," he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, another legislator Didi Supriyanto said that the
\ncommittee would convey its findings to the House plenary meeting
\non Feb. 24 after it carried out a one-year investigation.<\/p>\n
"We demand that the Attorney General's Office takes the cases
\nmore seriously. We also recommend that the House establish a team
\nof experts to push the investigation of the three cases," he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/attorney-generals-office-criticized-over-pertamina-corruption-probe-1447893297",
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