Documents on alleged graft by Prajogo submitted

Documents on alleged graft by Prajogo submitted

JAKARTA (JP): Former secretary-general of the Ministry of
Forestry Suripto handed documents to the Attorney General's
Office on Wednesday regarding the alleged involvement of tycoon
Prajogo Pangestu in corrupt practices at PT Musi Hutan Persada.

Suripto claimed that PT Musi had marked up the size of its
timber plantation estate from its actual area of 118,000 hectares
to 193,500 hectares in order to obtain a state loan from the
reforestation funds, causing some Rp 331 billion in losses to the
state.

He further charged that PT Musi, in accordance with the
regulations, should have submitted a loan application to the
bank, which would then have forwarded it to the forestry
ministry. Instead Prajogo went directly to then president
Soeharto.

Describing himself as a concerned citizen who had access to
the documents, Suripto also said PT Musi reneged on its
obligation to pay the loan interest to Bank Mandiri, which had
reached Rp 154 billion by December last year.

"The company should be fined at least Rp 2.5 billion because
it has yet to pay any interest. I think the state prosecutors
should also investigate the involvement of Bank Mandiri's
management," he added.

Suripto further charged that prior to leaving the ministry
last month, his office found evidence that there were
discrepancies in the company's assets and industry concessions
that were likely manipulated to obtain Rp 9.91 trillion from a
consortium of 25 international banks.

After a one-hour meeting with prosecutor Soewandi, Suripto
told journalists on Wednesday that his visit was at the request
of Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, whom he met on Tuesday
night.

Earlier on March 21, Suripto submitted documents, alleging
that in the early 1990s in his capacity as owner of timber
company PT Musi Hutan Lestari, Prajogo, together with Soeharto's
eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti "Tutut" Rukmana, claimed to be
managing a 193,500 hectare plantation in Kalimantan, in order to
obtain a loan from the reforestation funds.

The money, according to Soeripto, was disbursed after
intervention from the state secretary. Until now, PT Musi has yet
to repay the loan, which was due in July 1999.

Suripto was sacked as the ministry's secretary-general by
President Abdurrahman Wahid on March 27, following the dismissal
of minister of forestry Nurmahmudi Ismail two weeks earlier.

Suripto had been at the center of a controversy at that time,
with the President charging the former military intelligence
officer with attempting to oust him. This was a claim that
ultimately contributed to Nurmahmudi's dismissal, as the latter
refused to replace Suripto.

Several analysts view Suripto as a key figure behind the
ministry's aggressive campaign to end the decades-long control of
the country's forestry sector by businessmen linked to the former
Soeharto regime. (hdn/bby)