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The country’s top financial watchdog said that in the last five years it had uncovered 318 cases of embezzlement that have cost the country trillions of rupiah.

Speaking at a press conference at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to mark International Anti-Corruption Day, the deputy chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), Hasan Bisri, said losses to the state amounted to Rp 29.5 trillion ($3.3 billion) and $480 million in foreign currency.

Hasan said that all the findings by the BPK had been forwarded to law enforcement authorities, but he was continuing to monitor whether any action was being taken.

He said the BPK would continue to identify areas where state funds were being pilfered.

In October, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono “declared war” on excessive state spending, but an activist group said the State Palace was one of the country’s worst spenders.

“The president’s remarks amount to nothing without real action,” said Yuna Farhan, secretary general of the Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra).

“The palace should lead the charge to cut spending, but in reality it is exactly the opposite.”

Yuna said that nearly every year the president instructed the Cabinet to spend less, yet every year the budget increased.

In the wake of a damning report from the BPK that said the state was losing trillions of rupiah in unnecessary expenses, the president vowed to get tough on the spending habits of ministries, regional governments and state-owned enterprises.

“The party is over,” presidential adviser Daniel Sparingga said on Oct. 9. “SBY is declaring war on the loss of state funds.”

At Friday’s press conference, the BPK also stated it would immediately submit the first part of its audit into the controversial 2008 Bank Century bailout.

At the start of the global financial crisis, the bank received a Rp 6.76 trillion bailout in a process critics said was flawed.

Hasan said the BPK would work to get the completed report to the House of Representatives, KPK and law enforcement agencies this month.

He said the audit was not yet complete as there were still many flows of cash to be investigated.

Hasan compared the Bank Century bailout audit to the audit done on Bank Bali. “In the Bank Bali case, we were looking at a lot of money going out of one specific account,” he said. “In the Bank Century case, we’re investigating cashflows from tens of thousands of accounts.”

The BPK is screening 80 million transactions, from which it has narrowed its investigation to approximately 20,000 accounts.

Another stumbling block in the investigation is the disappearance of key Bank Century officials, he added. “The key insiders who knew what was going on have fled,” he said.

Hasan said the BPK audit so far had uncovered indications of banking crimes and corruption.

“I respectfully submit the findings to the KPK,” he said. “The BPK is not in a position to get more involved in the case, however, if the KPK requests our assistance, we are ready to explain our findings so we are on the same page.”