Prosecutors seize three state-leased helicopters<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office confiscated on
\nWednesday three helicopters belonging to the Ministry of
\nAgriculture and Forestry as evidence in a Rp 23.3 billion
\n(US$2.65 million) fraud case involving the misuse of
\nreforestation funds and government property.<\/p>\n
The helicopters were parked at the hangar of aircraft rental
\ncompany PT Gatari Air Service in the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport
\ncomplex in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"The choppers will be moved to the Pilot Training Center
\n(BPLP) airbase in Curug, Tangerang,\" spokesman for the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office Yushar Yahya said.<\/p>\n
Yushar said the prosecutors had also planned to move the other
\nfive choppers to Curug. The five are currently parked at the
\nAtang Sanjaya Air Force Base in Bogor, some 60 kilometers south
\nof here.<\/p>\n
However, only one of the three choppers could be flown to
\nCurug, while the other two would be transported by trailers
\nbecause of their poor condition.<\/p>\n
All of the eight choppers, of BO-105 type, were built by then
\nstate-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Nurtanio in the early 1980s.
\nPT Nurtanio was later renamed PT Indonesia Pesawat Terbang
\nNusantara (IPTN).<\/p>\n
\"We are still assessing all documents connected to the
\nhelicopters, including their certificates. We have yet to assess
\ntheir physical condition before moving them out,\" Yushar told
\njournalists at the Gatari's hangar.<\/p>\n
The case is one of a number of corruption cases reported by
\nthe Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, formerly called the
\nministry of forestry and plantations, as part of its efforts to
\nrecover massive amounts of misused reforestation funds, and to
\neradicate corruption in the ministry.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's Office began investigating the case
\nlast May and named two suspects: Sudjono Suryo, the former
\nsecretary-general of the ministry of forestry and plantations,
\nand the president director of PT Gatari, Kabul Riswanto.<\/p>\n
PT Gatari was established in 1983 as PT Gatari Hutama Air
\nService, and was owned by former president Soeharto' youngest son
\nHutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra. The company was granted a five-year
\ncontract in 1992 to maintain the ministry's eight helicopters and
\na small aircraft.<\/p>\n
The ministry claims it was charged Rp 7.2 billion by Gatari
\nfor using its own helicopters during the period of the contract.<\/p>\n
Gatari was also accused of marking up the expenses for repairs
\nand spare parts, costing the ministry Rp 2.8 billion. The
\nministry paid these expenses with funds which had been earmarked
\nfor reforestation.<\/p>\n
However, Gatari's legal consultant Hakim Simamora claimed that
\nthe company had never received nor asked for money from the
\nministry during the contract period which ended in 1997 after a
\ntwo-year extension.<\/p>\n
\"The ministry had failed to comply with the agreements
\nstipulated in the contract, including to provide 20 percent of
\nspare parts and service of the helicopters's expenses and the
\nobligation to pay for 1,000 hours of rental costs per year,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Simamora said Gatari had never used the two grounded choppers
\nsince they acquired them in 1992 as they have never been
\nconverted from their military-oriented design into civilian-
\noriented ones.<\/p>\n
Simamora said the company had refused to share half of its net
\nprofit as stipulated in the contract, because the ministry had
\ncaused losses to PT Gatari.<\/p>\n
\"The ministry should have thanked Gatari for allowing them to
\nevade the responsibility of maintaining the helicopters, which
\ncould cost you a fortune,\" he told journalists on the sidelines
\nof the seizure.<\/p>\n
He added that the maintenance cost the company up to Rp 2
\nbillion per year, while the cost for renting the hangar was Rp 75
\nmillion per month and the insurance fee was US$2,500 per month
\nfor the three helicopters.<\/p>\n
Simamora also said that the company had repeatedly contacted
\nthe ministry to take back the helicopters after the contract had
\nended, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Syahrial Harahap said the investigation was based
\non the report made by PT Gatari to the ministry in 1995, after
\nthe company had failed to provide its annual reports to the
\nministry from 1990 to 1994.<\/p>\n
\"The ministry's inspectorate then found irregularities in the
\nreports,\" he said. (bby)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prosecutors-seize-three-state-leased-helicopters-1447893297",
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