AGO slaps travel ban on APHI suspects
AGO slaps travel ban on APHI suspects
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office slapped a travel ban on Thursday on
four suspects in the alleged misuse of Rp 268 billion (US$29.7
million) and US$4 million in funds belonging to the Indonesian
Forestry Association (APHI).
Two of the suspects, former APHI chairman Adiwarsita Adinegoro
and deputy chairman Abdul Fatah were taken into the prosecutors'
custody on Wednesday night, while the association's treasurer,
Yusran Syarief, and deputy treasurer Zein Ma'ruf remain at large.
Spokesman for the Attorney General's Office RJ Soehandojo told
The Jakarta Post on Thursday that Zein had submitted a letter
from a doctor at Pondok Indah hospital stating that he was ill,
while Yusran had requested the postponement of his questioning
due to his daughter's wedding.
"We'll start questioning the two suspects (Zein and Yusran)
early next month. We have informed the immigration office of the
travel ban," Soehandojo said.
Adiwarsita, a House of Representatives legislator from the
powerful Golkar Party, allegedly misused the funds during his
term as APHI chairman from 1998 to 2003. Prosecutors accused him
of ordering a transfer of Rp 10 billion to a man identified as
Imam Kuntjoro and a donation of Rp 11.125 billion to the
Raudlatul Jannah foundation. The expenditures were not in line
with APHI rules.
The Raudlatul Jannah foundation is linked to a graft case that
brought former House speaker and Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung to
court last year. The foundation was appointed by Akbar to
distribute staple food for the poor in 1999, a charity program
that was proven fictitious.
The Central Jakarta District Court convicted Akbar, Raudlatul
Jannah chairman Dadang Iskandar and businessman Winfried
Simatupang in the case, but, early this year, the Supreme Court
acquitted Akbar.
Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh was the Supreme Court
justice who upheld the lower court's verdict, while the other
four were of the opinion that the then Golkar leader was not
guilty.
Akbar lost the party's top post last week to Vice President
Jusuf Kalla.
The APHI case could lead to the reopening of the scandal
involving Akbar.
Adiwarsita's lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution regretted his
client's detention, saying the Attorney General's Office was
seeking credit from the President, who is putting the
anticorruption drive at the top of his priority list.
The lawyer later told Adiwarsita, the son of national press
figure the late Adinegoro, not to cooperate with prosecutors
during the interrogation.
Soehandojo said the APHI scandal was among top priority cases
his office was investigating. Other cases include alleged
corruption involving Indonesian Distribution Cooperatives
chairman Nurdin Halid and irregularities in the privatization of
state seaport operator Pelindo II, which implicate former state
minister of state enterprises Tanri Abeng.