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KPK charges minister in haj graft
Jakarta Post - May 23, 2014
KPK officials also said that Suryadharma was not the only official implicated in the graft case. KPK deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas confirmed that a number of "Suryadharma's associates", whose identities he declined to reveal, had also been named suspects.
"Yes, we have named SDA and 'other associates' as suspects in the case," Busyro said referring to Suryadharma by his initials. He did not provide details of the "other associates", or whether they were staff at the Religious Affairs Ministry or lawmakers at the House of Representatives. The KPK has summoned individuals from both institutions during its investigation into the case.
In a separate press conference held hours after Busyro's statement, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that Suryadharma, as the official with the highest authority at the ministry, had been charged with malfeasance, enriching himself and others, as well as corporate enrichment under articles 2 and 3 of the 2001 Corruption Law.
"We are still calculating the state losses resulting from the graft," Johan said at the KPK headquarters on Thursday night.
In February, the KPK said its investigation was focused on three areas: The procurement of goods and services in the haj pilgrimage program during 2012-2013, the management of the haj pilgrimage fund during 2012-2013 and the provision of haj facilities to individuals who were not entitled to them.
"There are a number of officials at the ministry who allegedly received haj facilities to which they were not entitled according to existing regulations," KPK commissioner,Zulkarnain said in Thursday night's press briefing.
Zulkarnain also shrugged off speculation that the naming of Suryadharma was politically motivated, taking place as it did amid the febrile political atmosphere ahead of the July 9 presidential election. "We work based on the law, not according to politics," Zulkarnain said.
Suryadharma is the second active minister to be charged with graft after Democratic Party politician and former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng, who was named a suspect for his role in the Rp 2.5 trillion (US$216 million) Hambalang sports complex case.
Also on Thursday, the KPK raided the office of the ministry's director general for the haj and umrah (minor pilgrimage), Anggito Abimanyu, raising speculation that he was one of the "other associates" mentioned by Busyro. Johan, however, denied that Anggito had been named a suspect in the case.
The KPK had previously questioned Hasrul Azwar, a politician with the PPP, and Jazuli Juwaini, a lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), who are members of House Commission VIII overseeing religion.
Suryadharma and PPP secretary-general Muchammad Romahurmuziy did not return calls from The Jakarta Post on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, PPP politician Ahmad Yani said the party respected and would cooperate with the KPK in its investigation. "We are still studying the case," Ahmad said on Thursday.
Asked if there was a possibility the party's central board would dismiss Suryadharma following the KPK's latest move, Yani said: "He is still our chairman".
Meanwhile, Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie said that the KPK's prosecution of Suryadharma would not affect the presidential bid of the Gerindra Party's Prabowo Subianto. Suryadharma's PPP and Aburizal's Golkar have joined Gerindra to back Prabowo's bid.
The Religious Affairs Ministry has long been perceived as notoriously corrupt, with the KPK naming it the most corrupt institution of the 22 government agencies it surveyed in 2011.
The current graft case follows the sentencing by the Jakarta Corruption Court of a number of ministry officials for their roles in a graft case involving the procurement of Korans at the ministry last year.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/23/kpk-charges-minister-haj-graft.html.
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