Treasurer testifies against Taufiq Kamil in graft case
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A government official admitted to having disbursed a big part of haj trust funds for various irrelevant purposes upon orders from his superiors at the Ministry of Religious Affairs between 2001 and 2004.
The Directorate General of Haj Management Affairs' treasurer, Enin Yusuf Suparta, testified in court on Thursday that he had notified former director general Taufiq Kamil about the misappropriation of the haj funds, but the defendant apparently insisted that he comply with the orders.
"As a treasurer, I disbursed the money upon the orders of the defendant even though I had informed him that the payments were illegal," Enin said when testifying at the trial of Taufiq at the Central Jakarta District Court.
Among the misappropriation of the haj funds was reportedly a payment on July 3, 2003 to state auditor Khairiansyah for Rp 15 million (US$1,500) to influence the audit of the Haj Management Agency, which falls under the Directorate General of Haj Affairs.
Enin also said he took Rp 160 million from the haj funds to pay lawyers for then minister of religious affairs Said Agil Hussein Al Munawar in 2004. He said the directorate general also spent a lot to cover the trips of House of Representatives lawmakers for a free haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Said Agil is standing trial separately for the misuse of Rp 67 billion and over $848,000 in haj trust funds between 2001 and 2004.
Both Taufiq and Said Agil could be sentenced to life if found guilty of enriching themselves, others and a private company involved in the graft case under the 2001 Anticorruption Law.
According to Presidential Decree No. 22/2002 on haj pilgrimage, the Ministry of Religious Affairs is allowed to collect haj trust funds that are raised from the government's profits in arranging the pilgrimage. The funds are to be used for Islamic education, propagation and poverty alleviation programs and development of haj facilities.
Prosecutors allege that Rp 600 million of the haj trust funds was remitted to the account of the State Audit Agency (BPK) secretary-general in 2002. Also in the same year the haj management agency reportedly paid Rp 26.5 million to state auditors who examined its accounts.
In 2003, the haj management apparently paid Rp 472.6 million to the BPK in connection with an annual audit. In the following year the payment amounted to Rp 349 million, of which Rp 221 million went to individual auditors.
The misuse of haj trust funds is just one corruption case being handled by the inter-departmental anticorruption team, which focuses on graft in government offices and enterprises.