New ruling pledges retribution in kind for corruptors

New ruling pledges retribution in kind for corruptors

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

High profile corruption suspects will surely have difficult times
ahead as a new anti-graft ruling currently being drafted by the
government will not only allow authorities to detain them from
the start of probe, but also will allow the state to immediately
confiscate their personal assets.

According to the draft of a government regulation in lieu of
the Anticorruption Law, a copy of which was obtained by The
Jakarta Post on Friday, the amount of wealth that can be
confiscated by the state is equal to the size of financial losses
suffered by the state.

Furthermore, a graft suspect will not be allowed to transfer
his or her personal wealth to relatives immediately after he or
she is suspected of a crime. The graft suspect or those linked to
the corruption case could also be banned from traveling abroad.

For investigation purposes, investigators may seek information
on the wealth condition of the suspects from banks or other
financial institutions.

The government has been drafting the regulation as part of
efforts to fight the rampant corruption in the country.

As previously reported, the ruling would only apply to high
profile corruption case involving state losses of at least Rp 50
billion (US$5.3 million). Corruption suspects will be
immediately detained by the authorities at the start of the
investigation until a final verdict has been issued by the
Supreme Court to prevent them from fleeing the country -- a
regular occurrence with many suspected corrupters.

The government considers corruption an extraordinary crime,
requiring extraordinary measures.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who promised a serious
fight against corruption during the presidential campaign, is
expected to meet with the House of Representatives leaders on
Monday to discuss the draft.

According to Article 3 of the draft, anyone accused of
corruption valued at Rp 50 billion or more, would face a maximum
penalty of the death sentence and a minimum sentence of five
years in jail.

The corruptor may also be fined, the amount equal to the
amount of state loss or at least Rp 1 billion.

According to the regulation, any government official or
institution that receives Rp 10 million or more from other people
must prove that the money is not a bribe. If the gift is less
than Rp 10 million, it will be the duty of the state prosecutor
to prove that it is a bribe.

Investigations into alleged graft cases could be launched by a
team of investigators and state prosecutors under coordination by
the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

For investigation purposes, the team can launch a raid,
confiscate property and tap phone conversations without a permit
from a district court.

Within three days after any of the above actions,
investigators must inform the head of the district court.

The detention of graft suspects can be made directly, without
a permit from his/her superior.

Under the draft government regulation, the investigation, the
prosecution and the trial of graft cases must have be finished
within 90 days.

The investigation must be finished no later than 40 days, the
prosecution must be made within 20 days, and the trial process
must be no more than 30 days.

An appeal to the Supreme Court must be made no later than five
days after the verdict is handed down. The Supreme Court will
issue the final verdict no later than 30 days after that.