Awarded whistle-blower faces graft probe
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Prosecutors will summon state auditor Khairiansyah Salman, who won the Integrity Award for 2005 recently, for questioning about his alleged role in a haj fund scam at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Attorney General's Office said on Sunday.
Khairiansyah, a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) auditor, is accused of receiving part of the embezzled funds collected from pilgrims.
"He will be questioned along with all others who received the money," Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Hendarman Supandji was quoted as saying by Antara in Anyer, Banten.
He was asked if Khairiansyah, Minister of Religious Affairs M. Maftuh Basyuni and a number of former lawmakers who all allegedly received the money would be summoned.
Hendarman, who also chairs the interdepartmental team to fight corruption, did not say that Maftuh was among those who would face questioning over the haj fund scam.
The questioning of Khairiansyah will be carried out by the Central Jakarta Prosecutor's Office, Hendarman said without specifying a date.
The haj fund corruption case is worth some Rp 700 billion (US$70 million) and is being tried by the Anticorruption Court, with former religious affairs minister Said Agil Hussein Al- Munawwar and his former subordinate Taufiq Kamis as defendants.
As cited in the indictment against Said Agil, Khairiansyah received Rp 10 million as a so-called transport allowance from the Ministry of Religious Affairs when he was a BPK official auditing the controversial haj funds.
The payment was aimed at ensuring he would cover up the extent of corruption in the ministry.
Khairiansyah was the winner of an Integrity Award in 2005 from the Berlin-based Transparency International for his part in exposing corruption in the General Elections Commission (KPU).
He was the first Indonesian to win the prestigious award. Other winners were Senegalese journalist Abdou Latif Coulibaly and Israel's Movement for Quality Government.
Transparency International said that Khairiansyah "has shown that one whistleblower can tackle corruption. He is a role model for millions of Indonesians".
Acting on a tipoff from Khairiansyah, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah, who was caught red-handed in April attempting to bribe an auditor in the hope of influencing the results of an audit of the election body. Three KPU members and other officials have been prosecuted, some of whom have been jailed.
Todung Mulya Lubis, the chairman of Transparency International Indonesia, which nominated Khairiansyah for the award, has said the organization was aware of reports that Khairiansyah received kickbacks from the Ministry of Religious Affairs in connection with the graft case involving Said Agil.
However, Todung said, "It is not proven yet".
Khairiansyah, who is protected under the Corruption Eradication Commission's witness protection scheme, is now working with the Aceh and Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR).