AGO seizes $345,000 allegedly related to Jakarta-Cikampek toll road graft case
Jakarta, Indonesianpost.com – The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) confiscated on Monday US$345,700 in cash allegedly connected to a corruption case pertaining to the construction of the Jakarta-Cikampek II/Muhammad Bin Zayed (MBZ) elevated toll road in West Java.
Investigators of the AGO’s junior attorney for special crimes (Jampidsus) seized the money during raids at the offices of three private companies in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, Matraman, East Jakarta, and Kembangan, West Jakarta.
They alleged the money was illicitly obtained from the corruption case, which caused an estimated Rp 1.5 trillion (US$95 million) in state losses, according to AGO spokesperson Ketut Sumedana.
“Investigators also found documents and electronic evidence allegedly related to the case,” Ketut said in a statement on Tuesday.
The AGO has named four suspects in the case for allegedly rigging the tender process for the Rp 13.5 trillion project.
Read also: China railway company says Whoosh HSR can modernize RI network
They were toll operator PT Jasamarga Jalanlayang Cikampek (JJC) former executive director Djoko Dwijono, JJC tender committee chair Yudhi Mahyudin, expert bridge consultant Tony Budianto Sihite and Sofia Balfas, operations director of PT Bukaka Teknik Utama, a construction company owned by the family of former vice president Jusuf Kalla.
The suspects allegedly rigged the tender by determining a special specification of materials needed to build the elevated toll road so the process would benefit certain companies. They were also suspected of tampering with the road’s design to reduce the specification of construction materials, allowing them to pocket the money earmarked for the project.
Investigators were still probing the alleged tender process price markups.
Apart from the four suspects, AGO investigators also arrested another suspect, identified as Ibnu Noval, a former division head of state-owned construction company PT Waskita Karya, for allegedly obstructing the investigation.