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JAKARTA, December 6 (dpa): Indonesia’s minister of Social Affairs was arrested on Sunday for allegedly embezzling more than $ 1 million in Covid-19 relief funds, the country’s anti-corruption agency said.
Juliari Batubara and two of his subordinates are suspected of accepting 17 billion rupees (US $ 1.2 million) in bribes from companies designated to supply food aid packages to Indonesians affected by the coronavirus pandemic, said Firli Bahuri, president of the Commission for the Eradication of Corruption (KPK). ).
The ministry requested a fee of 10,000 rupees (less than a dollar) for each food package in a Covid-19 relief program worth 5.9 trillion rupees, Firli said.
Juliari was being questioned at KPK headquarters and will be detained, KPK spokesman Ali Fikri said. The Ministry of Social Affairs was not immediately available for comment.
Indonesian Minister of Social Affairs Juliari Batubara.
Some of the suspects were arrested in a sting operation in Jakarta on Saturday, where KPK found the cash, Firli said.
“The money was stored in seven suitcases, three backpacks and envelopes, worth around 14.5 billion rupees,” or $ 1.03 million, he said. The online briefing showed suitcases containing cash.
Batubara could face the death penalty if convicted of stealing relief funds during a national disaster.
Batubara is the second Indonesian cabinet minister charged with corruption in two weeks.
Last month, the Minister of Marine Resources and Fisheries, Edhy Prabowo, was accused of accepting 4.3 billion rupees in exchange for granting permits to companies to export baby lobster.
He has since resigned from his ministerial position.
The Corruption Eradication Commission said Edhy used bribery money to buy luxury items, including Rolex watches and Tumi and Louis Vuitton bags, in Hawaii while on a business trip last month.
The arrests came amid criticism that the new law governing the KPK passed by parliament last year undermined its independence.
The law ordered the establishment of a supervisory agency charged with monitoring the conduct of the commission, whose mission is to combat corruption. It also transformed the KPK from an independent body into a government agency under the executive branch. – dpa
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