Attorney General's Office criticized over Pertamina corruption probe

Attorney General's Office criticized over Pertamina corruption probe

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Legislators lambasted the Attorney General's Office for being
slow in the investigation of alleged corruption cases in the
country's oil and gas projects.

Emir Moeis, chairman of the House of Representatives special
committee for the investigation of alleged corruption at the
state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina, said that the two
institutions had not been serious in their investigative work.

"The investigation began in 1999, but all the cases remain
unresolved," Emir told reporters on Thursday on the sidelines of
a hearing with Pertamina.

The House set up the committee last year to conduct its own
investigation into the corruption cases.

During the more than 30-year rule of former president
Soeharto, many state-owned companies like Pertamina had been
treated as cash cows through various corrupt practices such as
marking up the cost of the projects to benefit certain powerful
people.

Emir said that Pertamina handed over some 159 corruption cases
in 1999 to the Attorney General's Office for further
investigation, but a year later the office declared that only 22
cases could be investigated. It said that there was not enough
evidence in the remaining cases.

However, the Attorney General's Office has investigated only
three cases so far including the Exor-1 Balongan oil refinery
project, the Trans Java Pipelines, and the Technical Assistance
Contract oil and gas exploration in East Kalimantan.

Former minister of mines and energy Ginandjar Kartasasmita had
allegedly been involved in the last case.

The Attorney General's Office argued that it could not
complete the investigation on the Exor-I project because the
Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) had not concluded its
financial investigation.

But Emir said that BPKP was now in doubt whether the state had
really suffered financial losses in the project.

The investigation into the Trans Java Pipelines project became
controversial because the Attorney General's Office had planned
to drop the investigation, citing lack of evidence, Emir said.

Legislators also criticized the office for its lack of
cooperation with the House investigating committee.

"While we were trying to take a closer look at the Ginandjar
case, the Attorney General's Office officials claimed that some
of the files had been damaged by termites," said legislator
Sudarto.

"What kind of termites could damage a computer disc?," he
added.

Meanwhile, another legislator Didi Supriyanto said that the
committee would convey its findings to the House plenary meeting
on Feb. 24 after it carried out a one-year investigation.

"We demand that the Attorney General's Office takes the cases
more seriously. We also recommend that the House establish a team
of experts to push the investigation of the three cases," he
said.