Sugar money to stay with prosecutors

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Attorney General's Office decided to allow the North Jakarta Prosecutor's Office to keep, for the time being, the Rp 180 billion (US$20 million) in proceeds from the auction of over 56,000 tons of smuggled sugar as evidence in an ongoing case.

Spokesman RJ Soehandojo told a media conference on Tuesday that the prosecutor's office could not hand over the money to the state treasury agency "because we must wait until there is a final court ruling on the case".

The government confiscated tons of illegally imported sugar from several warehouses in Jakarta and Bogor last year, and put it up for auction. Distributor PT Angel Products won the bid in December and paid Rp 180 billion to the state's auction committee, which entrusted the money to the district prosecutor's office where the auction took place as required by standard procedures.

Police have named the chairman of the Confederation of Primary Cooperatives Association, Nurdin Halid, as a suspect in the sugar smuggling case. The prosecutors, however, have not brought the case to court citing a lack of solid evidence.

Many people have expressed concern that the case, if it is brought to court, will take several years to conclude due to the country's long court procedures.

"The Ministry of Finance and related bodies should monitor the state money being held by the prosecutor's office to make sure that all the money, plus the months of interest accrued is handed over to the state," legal expert Rudy Satrio remarked.