Several Customs Officials Suspected of Receiving Singapore Dollars from Blueray
A number of officials at the Directorate General of Customs, Ministry of Finance, are alleged to have received Singapore dollars from Blueray. Several names of officials were mentioned in court as having received sums in SGD from Blueray. Among them, Director General of Customs Djaka Budhi Utama is said to have received SGD 213,600, equal to about Rp2.9 billion.
This emerged when KPK prosecutor M Takdir Suhan questioned the Head of Intelligence on Customs, Directorate of Enforcement and Investigation of the Directorate General of Customs, Orlando Hamonangan Sianipar alias Ocoy, during a hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Wednesday (20 May).
The prosecutor confirmed data obtained from Blueray’s private company finance department. The data listed code names and amounts received. One code named Ocoy received SGD 42,800.
“So, Your Honour, these figures are in SGD. So for Ocoy it’s 42,800 Singapore dollars. Is that correct, Ocoy?” the prosecutor asked. “Yes, Sir,” Ocoy replied.
There were also payments of SGD 28,500 and SGD 7,200 to a person named Faldi and a person with the initials BY. Ocoy said BY is Budiman Bayu.
There was also a payment to the Head of Facilities, named Hendi, amounting to SGD 5,400.
“Head of Section, so at the same level as the witness. The value is 5,400 Singapore dollars. Then ‘SIS’, is ‘SIS’ Sisprian Kasubdit?” the prosecutor asked, to which Ocoy nodded in agreement.
“And ‘BR’ refers to Bang Rizal?” the prosecutor queried.
“Yes, Sir,” Ocoy replied.
After several names appeared, the prosecutor questioned Djaka Budhi specifically, as the evidence listed him as receiving SGD 213,600.
“Okay, Your Honour, we emphasise that (the data) for sales 2, 1 refers to the Director General of Customs; the value is SGD 213,600. We are the ones confirming this because we possess the evidence,” prosecutor Takdir said.
“1,2, 1, 2, 3, do you understand the meaning of these codes?” the prosecutor asked Ocoy. Ocoy said he understood the first code, but for the other codes he did not know.
The prosecutor then ensured whether the money in the financial records had been delivered to the recipients; Ocoy replied “Yes”.
“Okay, Your Honour. We will call other witnesses to confirm. And according to the evidence, as far as the witnesses know, did this money reach the recipients?” the prosecutor asked, and Ocoy affirmed.
In this hearing, KPK prosecutors charged three defendants representing Blueray Cargo in a case of bribery involving imports at the Directorate General of Customs. The three defendants are John Field, the head of Blueray Cargo; Deddy Kurniawan Sukolo, Blueray Cargo Operational Manager; and Andri, head of Blueray Cargo’s documents team.
The prosecutors say the three provided around Rp 61.3 billion in the form of SGD. In addition to money, the prosecutors said they provided certain facilities and luxury goods totalling around Rp 1.8 billion.
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa also spoke about the alleged receipt by the Director General of Customs Djaka Budhi Utama of SGD 213,600 or around Rp 2.9 billion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp 13,801 per SGD) from Blueray Cargo boss John Field.
Purbaya said he continues to communicate with Djaka every day. Nevertheless, he declined to say whether he has questioned his subordinate about the bribery allegations.
“I don’t interfere; I’m afraid of sin. But what happened, I understand,” Purbaya said at the office of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Jakarta, on Thursday (21 May).
However, Purbaya declined to elaborate further on what he knows about the bribery allegations.
“There is more. The enthusiasm of my colleagues is there,” he added.
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