Apr.12, 2010

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Monday that police had formally notified the Jakarta provincial prosecutor’s office about criminal investigations against former tax official Bahasyim Assifie, who was arrested over reports that he had suspicious bank accounts worth Rp 64 billion ($7.1 million) in the names of his wife and children.

The suspect could be charged with corruption and money laundering, said Hidayatullah, the assistant for special crimes at the Jakarta office.

AGO spokesman Didiek Darmanto said his office would carefully select the prosecution team for Bahasyim to prevent the recurrence of the scandal over the handling of a criminal case against another tax official, Gayus Tambunan.

“We are not in a hurry in appointing the prosecution members for Bahasyim’s case,” he said.

In the trial of Gayus, the prosecution controversially set aside corruption and money-laundering charges and demanded only one year in jail for embezzling Rp 370 million from a fund belonging to a South Korean businessman, despite evidence presented by police and the Financial Transaction Reports Analysis Center (PPATK) suggesting that Gayus was in possession of suspicious accounts totaling Rp 25 billion.

The case evolved into a national issue after Gayus was acquitted by the Tangerang District Court and a senior policeman, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, alleged that his colleagues had taken some money from Gayus’s bank accounts.

The AGO has dismissed two senior prosecutors, Cirus Sinaga and Poltak Manullang, while the National Police named three officers as suspects, and suspended former Lampung Police chief Brig. Gen. Edmond Ilyas over the case.

Jakarta Police have yet to grant Bahasyim’s request to suspend his detention on the basis of health problems. National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said such a decision would be up to investigators in charge of interrogations.

“Police have preliminary evidence to lock him up,” Boy said, without elaborating.

The suspect’s lawyer, John K Aziz, said his client suffered from heart problems.

Police detained Bahasyim for questioning over suspected corruption. Bahasyim was grilled for allegedly violating Articles 2, 3 and 13 of the 1999 Anti-Corruption Law on the basis of a PPATK report. The report further showed money flowing from Bahas yim’s bank account to three of his family members, including his daughter, identified as Winda Arum Hapsari, and his wife, identified as Sri Purwanti.

Bahasyim’s son, identified only as R, had Rp 2.1 billion in his account.

Police suspect Bahasyim collected fees when he led the examinations and investigations unit at the Directorate General of Taxation.

“The source of the money and where it went are the primary material in our investigation,” Boy said.

But John said his client was innocent and the money he saved was purely from his businesses.

“He runs used-car and fishery businesses, and the money from those businesses are saved in shares and bank obligations,” John said.

Bahasyim began his career in the tax office 34 years ago. He resigned in March as a 4C level staffer.

Police are also looking into whether Bahasyim had accomplices in the tax office, Boy said.

He said there were 47 suspicious transactions in Bahasyim’s accounts. Most were transfers of money to his wife and his children.

John has also confirmed that his client owns some luxury houses in the upscale Menteng area, a home in the Kalibata area of South Jakarta that is his official address, and a property in Depok used as a fish warehouse.