Heru Andriyanto & Nivell Rayda

AGO Plays Down Demands for Takeover of Bangkok Case

The Attorney General’s Office on Friday fiercely defended its controversial decision to drop an investigation into a corruption scandal at the country’s embassy in Bangkok and dismissed mounting calls that the case be taken over by the Corruption Eradication Commission.

“Reopening a [graft] case that has been terminated requires a court order or new evidence,” said Marwan Effendy, deputy attorney general for special crimes.

Various antigraft groups, most notably Indonesia Corruption Watch, earlier cast doubts that prosecutors would bring the case to court considering that some of the suspects were high-profile figures. They urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to take over the case.

The AGO had initially named the ambassador to Thailand, Muhammad Hatta, his deputy, Djumantoro Purbo, and former embassy treasurer Suhaeni as suspects in the case.

Hatta was a former chairman of the Golkar Party at the House of Representatives.

“Just because ICW asked the KPK to take over the case, it doesn’t mean the commission must do so. What does ICW think it is?” Marwan said in Jakarta.

The KPK said taking over the graft case from the AGO was a possibility but it would require a lengthy process. “It is not that easy,” KPK spokesman Johan Budi said.

“We could examine the case and how the investigation progressed. There are requirements to take over a case, especially if we find that there is enough evidence to continue prosecution.”

He said prosecutors had been unable to find sufficient evidence to continue the investigation and bring the case to court.

Emerson Yuntho, a senior member of ICW, said: “We have suspected since the beginning that the case would be terminated because of intervention from outside the AGO.

“Indications of that appeared when the AGO began to consider the case an administrative matter, while ignoring a report from the BPKP [Development Finance Controller] — issued at the request of the AGO itself — suggesting state losses of at least Rp 2.49 billion [$274,0] in the case.”

He said the group would report the AGO’s decision to the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force and call for investigations of prosecutors responsible for terminating the case.

“ICW has noted that over the past 10 years, the AGO has dropped at least 30 major corruption cases,” Emerson said.

Another watchdog, the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (Maki), has pledged to file a court motion against the decision.

If accepted, the court verdict could provide legal standing for the KPK to take over the case, Marwan suggested.

AGO spokesman Didiek Darmanto said the case was dropped because prosecutors could not find any state loss.

“We initially found allocations from the Bangkok Embassy’s budget amounting to 5.25 million baht [$163,000] and $2,485. But of the total allocated fund, only 1.3 million baht had been used, while the rest was kept in an embassy safe,” Didiek said.

“The money, equivalent to Rp 412.6 million, was used to support the operation of the Bangkok Embassy and diplomatic activities for the interests of the state, so there was no state loss. Besides, all the money has been returned to the state.”

He said the alleged wrongdoings should be treated as administrative offenses and handled under the disciplinary regulations for civil servants, but not the anticorruption law.

Asked about the audit results suggesting a state loss, Didiek said the audit covered a period different from that during which the suspected budget misappropriations occurred.