Suspect returns last tranche of alleged graft Bulog money

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A suspect in a high-profile corruption case returned the last tranche of Rp 7.5 billion on Tuesday of the misused State Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds to the government.

The money was returned by Winfried Simatupang's family and lawyers, spokesman of the Attorney General's Office Barman Zahir announced on Tuesday, referring to the suspect in the Bulog financial scam, which has also implicated Speaker of the House of Representatives Akbar Tandjung.

Akbar, who is also chairman of Golkar, is now in detention at the Attorney General's Office, while Winfried and other suspects in the case including former Bulog chief Rahardi Ramelan and Dadang Sukandar are being detained at Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta.

The four were charged with embezzling Rp 40 billion out of Rp 54.6 billion disbursed by the Habibie government in 1999 for a food distribution program.

Winfried had earlier claimed that he had used all the Rp 40 billion for distributing 1.6 million food packages to five provinces in Java.

The Attorney General's Office announced last Saturday that Winfried had returned Rp 32.5 billion in eight installments over a two-week period. The latest installment was Rp 5 billion on March 7, just before Winfried was detained by investigators.

Leader of the investigation team Manap Djubaedi told reporters on Tuesday that the Attorney General's Office had considered auditing the money that Winfried claimed had never been used for the project for the poor and that it had been with him all the time.

Winfried's claim has raised eyebrows as to why the payment was made on an installment basis.

"We don't know where Winfried kept the money. We will find out where the money came from and will ask for a legal audit by the Development and Finance Control Agency (BPKP) and Bank Indonesia," Manap said.

Akbar, who was a minister/state secretary under former president Habibie's government, appointed the Raudlatul Jannah Foundation, which was led by Winfried and Dadang, to execute the project for the poor.

Many believe that the money went to Golkar's coffers and was used to bankroll votes for the 1999 general election.

Although the Attorney General's Office has said the returning of the money would not alter the case against the suspects, there is a possibility that it was part of a scenario to help Akbar escape corruption charges.

A previous Rp 35 billion Bulog scandal case, which allegedly involved former president Abdurrahman Wahid, was turned into a petty criminal case after suspect Alip Agung Suwondo returned all the money.