AGO targets senior customs officials
AGO targets senior customs officials
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Prosecutors pledged on Friday to question senior customs and
excise officials about alleged corruption involving illegal rice
imports from Vietnam, which are believed to have defrauded the
taxpayer of Rp 24 billion (US$2.4 million).
This followed the arrests on Thursday of five junior officials
at the Tanjung Priok Customs and Excise Office in North Jakarta
who were allegedly involved in the illegal importation of 60,000
tons of rice.
"They (the suspects) told our investigators that their bosses
were also involved in the case. That's why we have decided to
also question their superiors," said the deputy attorney general
for special crimes at the Attorney General's Office (AGO),
Hendarman Supandji.
However, he declined to name the top officials who will be
questioned.
Asked whether M. Zein, a former head of the intelligence
division at the customs and excise office was among these senior
officials, Hendarman declined to answer.
The five officials arrested on Thursday included Tanjung Priok
customs office director Soemantri, and his three subordinates --
Athan Carina, Yamiral Aziz and Sinta Dewi. Soemantri's
predecessor Wahjono Hermanto was also detained.
Hendarman has repeatedly said it would be inconceivable for
senior customs officials not to be aware of illegal rice imports
through Tanjung Priok Port from Vietnam as very large bulk
quantities were involved.
Information supplied by prosecutors shows that the case
implicates PT Hexatama Finindo, which imported 60,000 tons of
rice from Vietnam in 2003 in cooperation with state-owned village
cooperative umbrella organization PT Inkud.
But, it is claimed that Hexatama did not pay the import duty
on all the imported rice. It allegedly forged documents stating
that the rice shipments only weighed 900 tons. As a result, the
unpaid tax was estimated at more than Rp 24 billion.
The case was first revealed after an anticorruption watchdog
reported two House of Representatives members, Setya Novanto and
Idrus Marham, to the AGO and Corruption Eradication Commission
(KPK) in February.
However, the AGO has yet to charge the two legislators, who
allegedly signed the contracts for the rice imports. Instead, the
prosecution service has named Hexatama director Gordanius Setyo
Lelono, who is Novanto's brother, as a suspect in the case.
In an internal investigation, the Customs and Excise Office (a
unit of the Ministry of Finance), said that Firdaus Yahya, an
operations officer at PT Newships Nusabersama -- the shipping
firm that transported the rice -- and Jack Tanim, a manager of PT
Inkud, as being implicated in the case.