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Two More Travelgate Graft Suspects Detained
Heru Andriyanto | March 10, 2010

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Two former high-level officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were detained on Wednesday shortly after being interrogated at the Attorney General’s Office over a travel cost inflation scandal in the ministry, bringing the total number of suspects in the case to five.

Syarif Syam Arman and Gusti Putu Adnyana, both former treasurers at the ministry, became suspects after prosecutors obtained evidence that they had overstated the travel costs of diplomats before asking for a refund from the state, said Arminsyah, director for corruption investigation at the AGO.

“We initially summoned both as witnesses but investigators determined that as treasurers, they were responsible for [ticket mark- ups], although they no longer held their posts,” Arminsyah told reporters.

The prosecutor said that the former officials had provided two sets of receipts, the first with the actual cost the ministry would pay the travel agencies for the air tickets, and the second requesting an inflated, larger amount to be reimbursed by the state.

“As treasurers, they should have asked for the amount equivalent to what they had paid to the travel agencies. But instead, they inflated the receipts so the state had to pay a higher amount,” he said.

Gusti, who held his post as ministry treasurer from 2003-07, and Syarif, his successor from 2007-09, refused to speak to journalists while being escorted to a van waiting to transport the prisoners.

The AGO has already detained the ministry’s financial bureau chief Ade Wismar Wijaya and travel agency director Syarwani Soenie, who is also a former ministry official.

A third suspect in the case, former ministry official Ade Sudirman, has not been detained due to health reasons.

Arminsyah said the AGO had interrogated 21 people from the ministry and various travel companies in relation to the case.

“According to data obtained by investigators, a portion of the money has been used by other parties,” he said

Arminsyah declined to comment when asked whether it was possible that the suspects could have been following orders from their superiors in the Foreign Ministry.

The travel cost inflation case is believed to have caused Rp 21 billion ($2.3 million) in losses to the state from 2008-09.