Foreign ministry denies graft

Foreign ministry denies graft

JAKARTA: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied recent
reports of financial misuse uncovered in the Indonesian embassies
in Singapore and Beijing, which allegedly caused Rp 14.5 billion
(US$1.6 million) in state losses.

In a press statement released on Friday, the ministry claimed
the loss of money was caused by a delay in submitting the state's
non-tax revenues.

It said the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had assessed the
financial reports of both embassies in April.

The ministry said it had told the BPK that the money had not
been deposited in the state treasury at the time in order to make
provision for currency fluctuations, which could spell trouble
for the operation of the embassies.

"The BPK findings should not be an issue due to the fact that
the Indonesian embassies in Singapore and Beijing submitted all
state non-tax revenues on June 27 and June 17 respectively," the
statement said.

Besides its own budget, the foreign ministry also drafts the
budgets for 118 Indonesian diplomatic representatives abroad. --Antara