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.