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.” 

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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.

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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