KPK to detain Budi Mulya soon

JAKARTA. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) expects to detain former Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor Budi Mulya soon.

KPK chairman Abraham Samad said on Tuesday that the antigraft body had nearly completed its investigation into Budi’s alleged abuse of authority in the Bank Century bailout.

Therefore, the KPK hopes to detain Budi, the only suspect in the case so far, by the end of the year.

Samad, however, did not know when the case would go to trial.

“I don’t know exactly when [the case will go] to court, but if [we’re talking about detainment], then maybe this year,” he said.

According to Samad, it would be difficult for the KPK to complete Budi’s dossier this year as previously stated due to a lack of human resources. “We only have 60 to 70 investigators, and with so many big graft cases suddenly, [investigators] are shifting [their focus],” he said.

The case centers around the controversial decision by BI and the government to disburse Rp 6.76 trillion in bailout money to the ailing mid-sized bank at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008.