Police detain two for embezzling SEA Games funds

JAKARTA (JP): The National Police has detained two suspects for their alleged involvement in embezzling last year's 19th SEA Games sticker funds collected from the public over 18 months.

National Police deputy spokesman Col. Bambang Haryoko told a media conference yesterday that officers are currently looking for three other suspects, identified only as YF, IR and DH. The three are on the police's most wanted list, he said.

Bambang said the two detained suspects, identified as Hartono Santoso and Tosi Hertiyono, were arrested last month.

They were employees of PT Angkasa Rona Graha, a private company appointed to be one of the partners of a consortium in charge of raising funds for the SEA Games.

"The five allegedly embezzled the money obtained from SEA Games sticker sales at various government and private institutions.

"The suspects also counterfeited several documents ordering sticker funds collection, as if the letters were from the SEA Games consortium, even though in reality the money was sent to their own bank accounts," Bambang explained.

It is not yet known how much the five suspects allegedly embezzled.

Hartono and YF, for example, faked letters and documents ordering the transfer of Rp 594 million collected by the Jakarta Revenue Agency to their own accounts, he said.

Tosi appropriated Rp 417.6 million from PT Excelkomindo Pratama, another private institution assigned to sell the stickers, through an account under his name.

The two other suspects, IR and DH, used the same strategy and took Rp 150 million in sticker funds from the West Kalimantan Revenue Agency.

The swindling is believed to have occurred between September and December last year, Bambang said.

"We have conducted a thorough investigation into the matter since May 1, when we officially received the report. Hopefully we can capture the three other suspects and solve this case," Bambang added.

The police confiscated, as evidence, copies of the Ministry of Social Affairs's decree stating the appointment of the 19th SEA Games consortium and its other partners as well as several fake documents used by the suspects to obtain the money, he said.

"The National Police detective unit will send letters to the minister of finance to get more information about permits for the use of the suspects' bank accounts.

"We will also send letters to the attorney general and even the President to summon all members of 19th SEA Games consortium and related parties involved in this case as witnesses," Bambang said, without naming them.

"Wait for further results of our investigation."

There are no definite figures on how much the consortium raised in the sticker sales from July 1996 to December last year.

The stickers, imposed on telephone, water and electricity users, airplane passengers and car owners, were sold under a ministerial decree issued by then minister of social services Endang Kusuma Inten Soeweno.

In its audited report, submitted to the then state minister of youth and sports affairs, Agung Laksono, in April, the consortium said it suffered a Rp 64 billion deficit, down Rp 4 billion from its previous reported loss.

The report is being questioned by the Indonesian Consumers Foundation, which has urged the House of Representatives to examine the accountability report submitted by the SEA Games underwriting consortium. The federation believed it lacked transparency.

The foundation had planned to file a lawsuit against the consortium over the lack of transparency in its management of the public funds but in late April Agung Laksono decided to submit the case to National Police for further investigation. (edt)