Govt reopens toll roads' graft case

JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office decided to reopen a corruption case involving two toll road projects in Jakarta after finding new evidence regarding the suspect, who is the director of the projects' winner PT Marga Nurindo Bhakti.

Spokesman Muljohardjo said on Friday that the investigation into irregularities in the financing of the two projects -- the harbor and the Pondok Pinang-Jagorawi toll roads -- started last Wednesday under a six-member team led by prosecutor Suwandi.

The case revolves around the issuance of commercial paper by the project coordinator PT Hutama Jala, a joint venture between PT Citra Manggala Nusaphala Persada and toll road builder PT Marga, to finance the construction of the toll road projects.

The harbor toll road, connecting Cawang and Tanjung Priok, was valued at Rp 510 billion, while the Pondok Pinang-Jagorawi toll road was estimated at Rp 301 billion when the projects started in the early 1990s.

However, Muljohardjo explained, the commercial paper failed to hit the market.

New evidence revealed that PT Marga's director Joko Ramiadji, along with other executives of the consortium, allegedly initiated the second issuance of commercial paper using the name of respected contractor PT Hutama Karya.

"The use of the money obtained from the selling of the second commercial paper was without the approval of Hutama Karya's board of commissioners or its shareholders," Muljohardjo said.

He added that the prosecutors were still calculating the state losses caused by the deal since PT Marga never used its own funds in the projects but was granted concession rights to operate the toll roads for 35 years.

"There is the possibility that the prosecutors will find other suspects in the case," he said. (bby)