Sutanto urges media not to exaggerate money laundering case

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

National Police chief Gen. Sutanto has appealed to the mass media not to exaggerate reports of the alleged money laundering case in which 15 police officers have been implicated.

He said there was no need to continue with intensive coverage of the crime as the police were committed to investigating and resolving it.

"Please don't ask questions (on the alleged money laundering crime) again. You (reporters) could question me over this if the case was stagnant. But the fact is that we are now investigating it," Sutanto told reporters.

"I am requesting your help. Please, don't try to lead this case into something unreal (speculation), nor exaggerate reports. And please don't accuse us of not doing anything here," he added.

The Financial Transactions and Report Analysis Center (PPATK) submitted a report to the National Police in August on money laundering activities allegedly committed by 15 serving police officers, including some generals.

Sutanto said resolving the money laundering case was crucial to showing the international community that Indonesia was serious in supporting the global fight against money laundering.

The PPATK said that suspicious transactions had occurred in the bank accounts of the officers and that the amount of money involved was "huge", much higher than the salaries of even police generals.

Neither the police nor the PPATK, Indonesia's anti-money laundering watchdog, have disclosed the names of the officers.

At present, the National Police's internal affairs division is investigating the report.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Taufiqurrahman Ruki said the agency was now in the process of tracking down the source of the funds in the bank accounts of the 15 police officers.

The agency, however, is only willing to track down and investigate accounts belonging to high- and middle-ranking officers, while those owned by low-ranking officers will be handled by National Police Headquarters.

"The investigation into the case is underway. If there is an indication that the funds are derived from corruption, the KPK will further investigate the case," said Taufiqurrahman.

Taufiqurrahman said that he would not try to cover up the case or to keep it out of court, although he is a former police officer and would likely face his former juniors in the police force.

"The public can be suspicious of me handling the case since I am a former police officer. But that is okay. I will try to prove that I am independent, and that the KPK has the courage to handle the case," he said.

Analysts have requested that the government transfer the investigation of the money laundering case to the KPK in order to effectively track down the source of the money and to be more independent in handling the case.