AGO : State suffers Rp 400 billion from collective graft

Written by Writer on Saturday, October 25th, 2008

AGO : state suffers Rp 400 billion from collective graft

Enny Wulandari , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 10/24/2008 7:17 PM | National

The state allegedly suffered losses totaling around Rp 400 billion (US$40 million) from graft committed by top officials collectively at the Directorate General for General Legal Administration, the Attorney General’s Office said on Friday.

Two top officials from the directorate had been named suspects. They were identified as ZY and SMS, AGO spokesperson Jasman Pandjaitan said.

The officials were responsible for the internal distribution of funds embezzled from various sources, from early 2001 to Oct. 2008, Jasman said.

“The funds were mainly intended for the procurement of goods for the directorate general’s information system,” Jasman said.

He also explained that with the consent of these two officers, the office had been charging fees to users wanting to use its online services, including online business permit registrations.

“These are public services that should have been provided free of charge,” Jasman said.

Funds embezzled from procurements and public services were distributed on a monthly basis to several top officials at the directorate general and its workers cooperation unit.

“The lump sum varied monthly according to the officer’s rank. A director general received Rp 10 million while a secretary-general received Rp 5 million,” he said.

More officials would be brought to justice as the investigation unfolds, Jasman said.