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Officials Hide Money in State Accounts
TEMPO Interactive / Indonesia Media
Yunus Husein, Head of Financial Transaction Reporting and Analysis Center (PPATK), has signaled that a lot of regional officials saved their personal money in state accounts.
This has caused the funds in question to seem to belong to an institution.
“I suspect, perhaps if the bank sees that the personal account is on behalf of an institution, it need not be reported,” said Yunus at the State Palace, yesterday (18/7).
He explained that regional leaders including regional office heads or treasurers open an account on behalf of the institution where they work.
Then they deposit and withdraw their personal money there.
“The incoming or outgoing money is like an institution's transactions. But in fact it's personal money.”
According to Yunus, this modus operandi is different from earlier ones.
In the past, many officials instead saved state money in personal accounts.
“Now what is occurring is the opposite. So it's shifted,” said Yunus.
If these indications lead corruption criminal acts, he stressed that PPATK would follow them up with legal officers.
Hekinus Manao, Director of Financial Accounting and Reporting at the Finance Department, said that the government's or institution's accounts are only to be utilized for state revenues or expenditures only.
This has already been regulated in the President Decision No. 42/ 2002 on State Budget Implementing Procedures.
He stressed that if a state official uses the government's account for personal interest, administrative sanctions would be imposed on him or her.
According to Emerson Juntho, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) Coordinator of Law and Court Monitoring, the PPATK must soon submit the findings on this new modus operandi of regional officials’ accounts opening to legal officers.
“If we have to wait until it is categorized as corruption first, then the evidence will already have been removed.”
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