Accounting firm questions Ghalib for alleged graft

Accounting firm questions Ghalib for alleged graft

JAKARTA (JP): An accounting firm on Wednesday questioned Andi
M. Ghalib, who stepped aside from the Attorney General's Office
last month pending a graft investigation, Antara reported.

The news agency said a team from the Prasetyo Utomo
accounting firm questioned Ghalib for more than an hour at the
office of Coordinating Minister for Development Supervision and
State Administrative Reforms Hartarto Sastrosunarto.

Since the fall of former president Soeharto in May last year,
Hartarto has led the national drive against corruption, nepotism
and cronyism.

Ghalib, who was accompanied by his lawyers Hotma Sitompul and
Ruhut Sitompul on Wednesday, managed to escape a horde of
journalists through a back door after the questioning.

On June 14, President B.J. Habibie suspended Ghalib, a
lieutenant general, after the independent Indonesian Corruption
Watch (ICW) said Ghalib had some Rp 13 billion (US$1.9 million)
in a bank and that some of the money was suspected to have been
bribes from businessmen under investigation for banking law
violations.

The government also said Ghalib's bank account would be
audited by an independent accounting firm.

The Association of Indonesian Accountants (IAI) said last
month that the audit of Ghalib's bank account was only "a waste
of time, money and energy" as Ghalib had not been named a
suspect. The association also said access to Ghalib's bank
accounts would only be given by the central bank governor if
police named Ghalib a suspect in their investigations.

Separately, a team of lawyers from ICW revealed on Wednesday
correspondence between the Military Police and the National
Police indicated Ghalib was being treated as a suspect though
there was no official statement yet.

Antara quoted one of the lawyers, Ida Warauw, as saying the
Military Police had written to the National Police requesting the
latter to ask the central bank for permission for the Military
Police to access Ghalib's bank accounts.

Warauw said the Military Police previously asked Bank
Indonesia for access, but was denied because the banking law
specifies only the prosecution office, police and the court have
the right to do so.

"Access will be given only if the Military Police was
accompanied by the National Police," Warauw said after the
lawyers' visit to the National Police Headquarters.

The headquarters, she revealed, previously asked for such
access but was also denied because Ghalib was not yet named a
suspect then.

In addition, the National Police has yet to respond to the
Military Police's request because the letter failed to specify
the full name and rank of Ghalib.

ICW chief lawyer Iskandar Sonhadji suggested that a joint team
of the National Police and Military Police be sent to access
Ghalib's account. (byg/swe)