Prosecutors back AG in legal battle

Prosecutors back AG in legal battle

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Union of Indonesian Prosecutors (Persaja) has stated that it
is fully behind Attorney General M.A. Rachman, who has come under
the spotlight for allegedly concealing his wealth, and will not
take any sanctions against the country's top prosecutor.

The Union's stance, however, has only strengthened public
suspicions of impunity on the part of law enforcers.

Suspicions compounded by an investigation into a bribery case
involving three judges that ended in uncertainty after a court
dropped the case following complaints by the judges' association.

Rachman is alleged to have concealed assets, including a
luxury home in Graha Cinere, Depok. The Public Servants' Wealth
Audit Commission (KPKPN) is now inquiring into the ownership of
the house, which is believed to be worth Rp 5 billion
(US$555,555).

Head of the KPKPN inquiry Rudjuan Dartono said on Tuesday that
the witnesses' statements were contradictory and the team needed
more time to ascertain the facts before reaching any conclusions
about corruption.

Rachman claimed the house belonged to his daughter,
Chairunnisa, who later sold it in January for Rp 950 million to
her father's old friend, businessman Husain Tanoto.

The KPKPN investigators have taken statements from the lawyers
of Chairunnisa and Nadjib Salim Atamimi, a businessman who is
said to have a close relationship with Rachman.

Chairunnisa pleaded ill health and failed to show up on
Tuesday, but she was represented by a team of lawyers. The
lawyers corrected her earlier statement claiming that the payment
for the house had included equipment for her dentistry practice,
rather than being only in cash as stated by Husain.

Nadjib said he was ordered to pay prosecutor Kito Irkhamni Rp
300 million in expenses for the house in Depok, which Kito built
(Kito was previously a contractor). "But Kito never asked for the
Rp 480 million (which he claimed Rachman still owed him) ... so
Rachman's debt to Kito was settled," he said.

Nadjib is a businessman from Situbondo, East Java, and is said
to have become acquainted with Rachman when the latter was fired
as deputy attorney general for general crimes for a short time
last year by then president Abdurrahman Wahid prior to being
restored to office again by President Megawati.

"Nadjib said he helped Rachman a lot during that time," team
member Winarno Zain told reporters, but failed to give details.