•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

The Elections Supervisory Board expects to report today on its investigation into allegations that the campaign of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received illegal donations from foreign entities.

“We plan to report the investigation into the Yudhoyono camp [on Thursday] to the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports Analysis Center [PPATK] and the Public Accountants Office,” board member Wahidah Suaib said.

The board, also known as Bawaslu, summoned members of the campaign team for clarification on Wednesday.

On Monday, Indonesia Corruption Watch reported to Bawaslu several allegations of illegal campaign financing. Among the alleged violations were gifts to Yudhoyono’s campaign from PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional and PT Pacific Northstar Investasi, both of which have large foreign shareholders.

BTPN is reported to have donated Rp 3 billion ($303,000), while Pacific Northstar Investasi is said to have given Rp 1 billion.

Publicly traded BTPN is majority owned by US-based Texas Pacific Group, which bought a 71.6 percent stake in the firm last year. Pacific Northstar Investasi is also affiliated with the US company.

Another Bawaslu member, Wirdianingsih, said receiving foreign donations, either from foreign institutions or Indonesian companies with foreign shareholders, was a violation of the Election Law.

“During the clarification, we questioned the [campaign] team on whether they knew that they had received donations from companies with affiliations to foreign companies,” she said. “The team said that they did not know about it. However, their argument was that BTPN is a public company.”

Wahidah said that if the allegations were proven, they could result in the jailing of candidates and campaign team members.

“Besides imprisonment, the Election Law would also require them to pay a fine of three times the total donation,” she said.

Wirdianingsih said that Bawaslu was looking into the possibility of taking the case to the police.

“We’re trying to gather all the evidence to bring the case before the police as a criminal act,” she said.

Djoko Suyanto, the deputy chairman of the Yudhoyono-Boediono campaign team, refused to comment on the matter after meeting with Bawaslu.