Systemic Improvement Must Follow Enforcement

KOMPAS/ALIF ICHWAN

Former House speaker Setya Novanto looks up as the judicial panel sentences him to 15 years in prison on Tuesday (24/4/2018) at the Jakarta Corruption Court, which found him guilty of corruption in the e-ID card procurement project in 2011-2013. The court also ordered Novanto was to pay a Rp 500 million fine or spend an additional three months in prison.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Harsh punishment is an important factor in curbing corruption in Indonesia. However, it must be accompanied with systemic improvements that eliminate the temptation and opportunity for committing corruption.

In the end, former House of Representatives speaker and Golkar Party chair Setya Novanto was punished for corruption. He was proven guilty of his involvement in the corrupt electronic identity card (e-ID) procurement project. The Jakarta Corruption Court judges sentenced Setya to 15 years in prison.

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) spokesperson Febri Diansyah said on Wednesday (25/4/2018) in Ambon, Maluku, that law enforcement would not stop at Setya and would continue to probe the e-ID case. Other parties that were allegedly involved in the corruption remained free.

The alleged involvement of other parties was reflected in the large restitution the court had ordered Setya to pay, amounting to US$7.3 million minus the Rp 5 billion (US$360,000) he had already surrendered to the KPK. The KPK’s indictment mentioned that the corruption case had incurred Rp 2.3 trillion in state losses.

The KPK intended to speak with Bank Indonesia, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) in order to anticipate the several means used in committing corruption, including the use of money changers to distribute the illicitly gained money in the e-ID case.

“We have coordinated with Bank Indonesia and the OJK, but we have yet to reach an agreement on anticipating the means of committing corruption through financial institutions. With this in mind, we will hold further talks with the three agencies,” said KPK public relations acting head Yuyuk Andriati.

Deterrent effect

Parahyangan University criminal law lecturer Agustinus Pohan said that the court’s sentence for Setya would not be enough to create a deterrent effect. Specifically, he said that the amount of restitution the court ordered Setya to pay, or US$7.3 million, was too small compared to the Rp 2.3 trillion in state losses the case had incurred.

Restitution is stipulated in Article 18, Point 1(b) of Law No 31/1999 on corruption eradication. The article states that the amount of restitution must not exceed the value of illicitly obtained wealth and goods in a corruption case.

“If we want a deterrent effect, especially in denying corruptors wealth, we need to revise the regulation. Restitution must be equal to the amount of state losses,” said Agustinus.

Secretary-general Abdul Mu’ti of the nation’s second largest Muslim mass organization, Muhammadiyah, also said that preventive measures should accompany legal prosecution to create a system that would reduce the opportunity for people to engage in corruption.

Mu’ti said that there should be more civil organizations that focused on monitoring potential corruption. “The fewer such institutions are in existence, the bigger the impression that corruption is normal and occurs frequently,” he said.

House Speaker Bambang Soesatyo from the Golkar faction said that suspicions abounded that corruption often involved cash transactions to prevent law enforcement from tracing illicitly gained money. Corruptors also tended to conceal or hide their illicitly gained money through various cash transactions to make it look as though the money was sourced legally.

It is believed that limiting cash transactions, as has been proposed in the bill on restricted cash transactions, would be effective in curbing corruption. The bill limits cash transactions at a maximum Rp 100 million, with certain exceptions.

The bill also requires financial services providers such as banks to determine the identity and purpose of those individuals that wished to conduct cash transactions greater than Rp 100 million. Such transactions will not be permitted if the individual was not clearly identified. Financial services providers should also coordinate with the PPATK in investigating suspicious transactions.

The government initiated the bill, which is included in its 2018 priority national legislation program. The House is waiting for the government to submit the draft bill and academic papers so it could start deliberations. “The bill should be able to curb corruption and smooth financial transactions,” said Bambang.

(SAN/FRN/AGE/GAL)