House urges government to prosecute those plundering Pertamina

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives urged the Attorney General's Office and the Police to push ahead with the investigation into alleged corruption at state oil and gas company Pertamina, involving some high-profile names.

The demand was made after the House special committee delivered its findings on 11 corruption cases, which could inflict some US$1.7 billion in financial losses to the state, at a plenary session on Monday.

"The committee recommends that the government pursue the investigation into the cases," chairman of the special committee Emir Moeis told reporters.

The committee also urged the police to help the investigation by taking necessary measures to bring the alleged corruptors in for questioning.

The House's Special Committee on Pertamina was set up on Sept. 27, 2001 in a bid to recover state losses and punish corruptors.

According to Emir, the Attorney General's Office had shown little cooperation with the committee, claiming they had lost files on the cases.

Emir said the House would tightly supervise the government's move in following up the cases as there had been signs that the Attorney General's Office intended to stop the investigation.

Almost all the corruption cases are centered around family members and cronies of the country's former president Soeharto.

Among the cases are the notorious technical assistance contracts (TAC) for the Balongan and Cepu oil fields.

TAC contracts have had a bad reputation for often being abused by politically well-connected businessmen to access the oil and gas sector.

The Balongan case revolves around alleged corruption and mark- up practices during the development of the oil field.

Suspects include former minister of mines and energy and current deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Ginandjar Kartasasmita, former minister of mines and energy I.B. Sudjana, late Pertamina president Faisal Abda'oe, and former Pertamina director of processing Tabrani Ismail.

With regards to the TAC at Cepu, the House committee had questioned the move by PT Humpuss Patragas, which obtained the contract from Pertamina in 1990, to sell its hares to ExxonMobil Oil. Humpuss is linked to the Soeharto family.

"The TAC was not supposed to be given to a foreign company. Again, it shows the privileges Tommy was granted," Emir said, referring to Soeharto's son Hutama 'Tommy' Mandala Putra, which owned Humpuss.

Construction of fuel pipelines in Java by PT Triharsa Bimanusa Tunggal (TBT) owned by some Soeharto family members had also reportedly been tainted by corruption and nepotism.

TBT's director Rosano Barrack canceled the project halfway through and asked for compensation amounting to $31.49 million from Pertamina, which agreed to make the payment.

Despite the House findings, there is skepticism from industry analysts that the cases can be resolved satisfactorily given the questionable performance of the Attorney General's Office with regard to graft cases involving powerful people.

For example, in the Balongan case, Ginandjar and Faisal had been detained for questioning in 2001 but then the Attorney General's Office ordered them released and claimed there was no evidence found to link them to corruption.

In mid-2002, the Balongan case was reopened. Only Pertamina's Tabrani has so far been detained. Faisal died just a couple of months after the case was reopened. Meanwhile, the questioning of Ginandjar is hampered by the fact that he must first be tried or investigated by the military as he was an active military officer at the time of the alleged wrongdoings.

Box

Pertamina cases involving state losses

1. TAC in four oil fields of Pendopo, Prabumulih, Jatibarang and Bunyu. The case involved Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Tabrani Ismail

2. TAC in Balongan oil field.

Alleged mark-up in the development of Balongan Exor I oil field causing potential losses of US$189.58 million to the state. Suspects according to previous press reports include Ginandjar, Faisal, and businessmen Erry Putra Oudang, Bing Cintamani, Sigit Harjojudanto

3. Java fuel pipeline

Rosano Barack, director PT Triharsa Bimanusa Tunggal, canceled the $300 million project and demanded compensation of $31.49 million from Pertamina. Pertamina's Faisal agreed to pay. His decision was deemed as a form of collusion.

Reports said that other suspects in the case include Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, Josep Dharma Brata and Anton Tjahjono.

4. Development of Seamless pipe factory PT Seamless Pipe Indonesia Jaya

Committee finds no irregularities but the project caused financial losses to the sate.

5. PT Tugu Pratama Insurance

The committee finds the insurance company, which was 20 percent owned by Pertamina pension fund had been channeling non- budgetary funds to various social foundations linked to former president Soeharto.