Prosecutors seize 1.3b from witness

JAKARTA: The Central Jakarta Prosecutor's Office has confiscated Rp 1.3 billion (US$142,000), allegedly part of a Rp 15 billion foreign loan, misappropriated from a project conducted by the Ministry of Religion Affairs, an official said on Wednesday.

The Attorney General's Office spokesman Barman Zahir said the money was seized from a witness, whose name is being withheld, who is believed to be involved in a construction project of an Islamic boarding school.

The Rp 59 billion project was funded by the Asian Development Bank, he told reporters.

The investigators have named a staffer at the ministry, Tarmizi, a suspect in the case. So far 20 people have been interrogated in the case, which was submitted by the office of the State Ministry for Administrative Reforms.

Barman further said that 10 people had also been interrogated in connection with another corruption case at the ministry which had allegedly caused Rp 24 billion in losses to the state. -- JP