City Hall recovers Rp 350m of embezzled funds

City Hall recovers Rp 350m of embezzled funds

JAKARTA (JP): The city's inspectorate office has managed to
recover Rp 350 million after a thorough investigation of the loss
of Rp 16 billion (US$2.13 million) in funds designated for the
maintenance of official vehicles, a senior official said on
Friday.

Deputy Governor for Administrative Affairs Abdul Kahfi said
that reports from the inspectorate office indicate that the funds
were embezzled mostly by officials from the city's supplies
office.

"For instance, the inspectorate office discovered data about
the disbursement of funds for the procurement of supplies, even
though in reality the office never purchased the supplies," Abdul
said, without elaborating.

The Rp 16 billion in losses accounted for 43 percent of the
total Rp 37.41 billion allocated by the city for the maintenance
of its official vehicles in the first eight months of this fiscal
year.

According to data from the supplies office, the actual number
of official vehicles, as revealed by ownership documents, is only
3,873, far below the figure of 6,797 that was reported for budget
calculations.

Abdul added that he has given the inspectorate office 10 days
to uncover the exact amount embezzled and the names of the people
involved in the case.

"The inspectorate office is currently investigating a total of
104 cases of malfeasance in the supplies office. The office has
until Dec. 14 to finish their investigations," Abdul said.

Meanwhile, a noted lawyer of the Legal Aid Institute
underlined on Thursday the importance of legally investigating
alleged corruption.

Apong Herlina, chairperson of the Jakarta branch of the legal
institute, said that the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office should not
wait until the administration reports a case of corruption to
begin an investigation, because corruption is not an offense
which requires a complaint before an investigation can be
launched.

She said that to investigate the case there was no need for
the office to receive the approval of the governor. "Everybody is
equal before the law if they are involved in criminal acts. The
governor's permit is needed only if it deals with administrative
violations," she said.

The head of the Indonesian Democratic Party's faction on the
City Council, Lukman Mokoginta, and Golkar faction chief Fatommy
Asaari agreed with Apong's statements, reiterating that the case
was obviously one of corruption.

Lukman, however, said that the prosecutor's office should wait
until the administration has finished collecting information on
the case before they begin any investigation.

"The prosecutor's office should wait to receive the completed
information, which will come from the results of the
administration's investigation," he said.

Lukman also said that it was the governor, who in his capacity
as budget executor, who should be held responsible for any
wrongdoing.

"The governor should take responsibility during a plenary
budget meeting with members of the City Council," he said.

Fatommy believes that the budget losses could be even larger
than the ones revealed to the public, because not all employees
who use the official vehicles ever received the maintenance funds
allocated by the administration.

"I myself, for instance, never received the funds for the
maintenance of my official car. I only received the monthly fund
for fuel," he said.

He also said that the administration should immediately cut
adjust the budget to reflect the actual number of official
vehicles.

"Such an action is essential, as other departments, like those
providing social safety nets, still badly need funds," he said.
(ind/ylt)