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)