Info from Mar'ie awaited for graft probe
Info from Mar'ie awaited for graft probe
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), Mar'ie Muhammad,
failed to give information to the Jakarta Police on Monday on the
PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) Rp 520 billion (US$62
million) graft case which occurred during his tenure as minister
of finance.
"He did not come today. We expect to get more data from him
this week," said the Jakarta Police corruption crime unit chief
Adj. Sr. Comr. Anton Wahono.
PMI Secretary-General Iyang D. Sukandar, said Mar'ie had left
last week for a seminar in Teheran to obtain information on how
Indonesia could best help Iranian earthquake victims.
"Mar'ie is scheduled to come back on Thursday," said Iyang.
Mar'ie reported to the headquarters as a witness last Tuesday.
At that time, police asked him to return on Monday as he was not
ready to provide detailed data relating to the case.
"This is an old case. Time is needed to prepare the relevant
documents. We don't want to rush to declare the suspects in the
case. What we can do is collect all the data available," said
Anton.
The scandal emerged in 1998, when Indonesia was experiencing
an economic crisis. The government established the Investment
Funds Account (RDI) using a loan from the World Bank to support
state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The minister of finance
controlled the account.
PT RNI, one of the SOEs, with a core business in sugar supply,
submitted a proposal asking for Rp 520 billion. The proposal said
the funds would be used to provide cheap medicine nationwide. The
proposal was approved and PT RNI was allocated the money.
However, the company could not pay the funds back by the required
deadline.
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), which examined the case, found
irregularities in the disbursement process, from the account to
PT RNI, and inside the company itself. BPK reported these
findings to the police.
Anton said the police would investigate PT RNI's director at
the time of the scandal. One name linked to the scandal is former
PT RNI director, identified as Hussein S.