Fire at Attorney General's Office Fuels Concerns over Corruption Case Dossiers in Indonesia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – A 12-hour fire that extensively damaged the Attorney General's Office (AGO) on August 22 in Jakarta has raised concerns over the safety of case dossiers of high-profile corruption suspects in Indonesia.

The AGO, however, through its legal information head Hari Setiyono, assured the public that all case dossiers are safe.

Likewise, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD has also given assurance on the safety of the case dossiers, particularly those handled by the AGO.

“Currently, two very important cases include graft convict Djoko Tjandra involving a prosecutor Pinangki [an alleged suspect who helped Djoko while on the run] and state life insurer Jiwasraya scandal," said Mahfud in a virtual press conference on August 23. "Its data and case dossiers are 100 percent safe.” 

Also read: Fire breaks out at Attorney General’s Office in Indonesia Capital

The Saturday evening fire that was first seen coming from the sixth floor was not the first time that fire broke out at the building. Kompas daily reported that at least three separate blazes occurred at the building since 1979 and two bomb threats in 2000.

Kompas.com recorded three high-profile corruption cases that are currently handled by the AGO.

Jiwasraya scandal

One is the case of state life insurer PT Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero) from end-2019. Based on the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), the alleged corruption caused state losses of 16.81 trillion rupiahs ($1.2 billion).

The AGO initially named six suspects such as PT Hanson International Tbk President Director Benny Tjokrosaputro, PT Trada Alam Minera President Commissioner Heru Hidayat, and PT Maxima Integra Director Hartono Tirto.

Other names included Jiwasraya former Finance Director Hary Prasetyo, Jiwasraya former President Director Hendrisman Rahim, and Jiwasraya former head of the investment and finance division Syahmirwan. The six defendants are currently on trial before the Jakarta Corruption Court.

Also read: Nearly 2,200 Volunteers Sign Up for Covid-19 Vaccine Trials in Indonesia

Apart from the graft charges, two defendants — Heru Hidayat and Benny Tjokrosaputro — are being accused of involvement in money laundering.

Following further investigation, 13 investment management companies and an official of Financial Services Authority (OJK) are also named as suspects in the Jiwasraya case.

Prosecutor Pinangki

Another case is related to the recent escape of graft convict Joko Soegiarto Tjandra, also known as Djoko Tjandra, who was involved in the high-profile Bank Bali corruption case two decades ago.

He had been on the run for 11 years before he was arrested in Malaysia in July 2020. Before his arrest, prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari allegedly met with him when he was still on the run abroad.

Following a series of internal investigations, she was found violating ethics after going abroad nine times without permission in 2019.

Also read: Corruption Watchdog Finds Flaws in Tenders for Covid-19 Equipment Supply in Indonesia

Recently, the AGO’s junior attorney for special crimes (Jampidsus) named Pinangki as a suspect in the alleged bribery case in connection with graft convict Djoko. She allegedly received about $500,000 in bribes. She has been detained and removed from her position. The matter is still under further investigation.

Allegations of extortion attempts in schools

Last month 63 principals of government junior high schools in Indragiri Hulu regency in Riau province resigned en masse. The school principals said that they were victims of extortion attempts involving representatives from the Indragiri Hulu prosecutor’s office non-governmental organization.

They resigned due to the undue pressure they were subjected to when managing the government-led school operational aid (BOS).

Following investigations, six officials from the prosecutor’s office were allegedly found abusing their power and accepting bribes.

However, only three of the six prosecutors have been named as suspects in the case by the AGO’s junior attorney for special crimes. They were allegedly extorting 650 million rupiahs ($44,300) from the school principals in 2019. The three prosecutors are currently detained in Jakarta. The matter is still under further investigation.

(Writer: Devina Halim | Editor: Bayu Galih)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/08/24/09262111/3-perkara-besar-di-kejaksaan-agung-yang-menjadi-sorotan-saat-ini?page=all.