Ratu Atut charged with extortion

JAKARTA. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has charged Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah with extortion in addition to the graft charges already leveled against her, the nation’s first female governor.

Atut faces graft charges in two separate cases, one of which concerns the procurement of medical equipment in her province between 2011 and 2013.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said on Monday that the commission’s investigators had gathered enough evidence to bring the new charge against her. “The investigators found evidence leading to a new allegation, in accordance with articles 11 and 12 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption.”

Johan explained that the extortion charge also related to the medical equipment procurement case, but he refused to elaborate further.

According to the Corruption Law, a public official, like Atut, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of Rp 1 billion (US$83,402) if they are found guilty of forcing someone to provide them with money or services.

Atut, a Golkar Party politician, was initially charged with instructing her brother, Tubagus “Wawan” Chaeri Wardana, to bribe former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar in exchange for a favorable ruling for Lebak Deputy Regent Amir Hamzah in an election dispute case being heard by the court. The KPK then expanded its probe and discovered that Atut and Wawan were also working together to embezzle provincial funds.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found a budget markup amounting to Rp 16 billion, as well as three other indications of corruption in Banten’s medical procurement case. The three indications comprised incomplete medical equipment worth Rp 5.7 billion, equipment that did not match specifications worth Rp 6.3 billion and missing equipment worth Rp 18.1 billion.

Meanwhile, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), said at least seven companies had won tenders for the project in Banten. The companies are PT Adca Mandiri; PT Buana Wardana Utama; CV Bina Sadaya; PT Mikkindo Adiguna Pratama; PT Marbago Duta Persada; PT Waliman Nugraha Jaya; and CV Radefa.

It is believed that all the companies are either owned by Wawan or affiliated with Atut’s family.

The KPK added that it would soon be charging Atut with money laundering. KPK commissioner Bambang Widjojanto said last Saturday that the antigraft body had found indications of “systemic money laundering [conducted by Atut]”.

Bambang added, however, that the KPK had not issued a sprindik, namely a letter ordering the start of an investigation into Atut’s money laundering allegation, explaining that a case presentation did not necessarily need such a letter.

Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) chairman M. Yusuf said recently that his office had found a number of suspicious transactions in Atut’s bank accounts, totaling billions of rupiah.

According to him, each transaction was for tens of million or even hundreds of million of rupiah.

Yusuf said the PPATK had submitted a report on Atut’s bank accounts to the KPK on Sept. 25, 2013.

He added that money transferred to Atut’s bank accounts came from a variety of sources, including both individuals and companies. (Hans Nicholas Jong)