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ANT/Indonesias graft now more sophisticated - Officials - 15 Jun 07 12:41
Indonesias graft now more sophisticated - Officials
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Corruption remains widespread in Indonesia and is getting more sophisticated despite the government's high-profile drive to eradicate it, officials involved in fighting graft said on Thursday.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the country's first direct election in October 2004 on a pledge to end corruption. Experts have consistently rated Indonesia as among the world's most corrupt.
"I believe corruption is still the same as before, but it has now different types, occurs in different areas. Previously it was more centralised but now it's spread all over the country," said Amien Sunaryadi, deputy chairman of the powerful Corruption Eradication Commission.
The commission was established in 2003 to investigate corruption cases and prosecute suspects because the government believed the Attorney General's office lacked the capacity to deal with mounting graft cases.
Since Yudhoyono's high-profile anti-graft campaign started, officials ranging from a former religious affairs minister to the governor of Aceh province have been jailed on corruption charges.
But Sunaryadi said corruption had become more sophisticated.
"We arrested old players but new players keep coming," Sunaryadi was quoted by Reuters as telling foreign correspondents.
Todung Mulya Lubis, chairman of the corruption watchdog Transparency International Indonesia, said Yudhoyono's failure to bring former President Suharto to justice for alleged corruption showed some powerful people were still above the law.
"He (Yudhoyono) has disappointed a lot of people. We are quite upset," he said.
Suharto, who resigned amid civil unrest in 1998 after more than 30 years of iron-fisted rule, was charged with graft but escaped prosecution as courts accepted medical statements he was too ill to stand trial.
The former president and family members deny any wrongdoing.
The Attorney General's office said in May it was preparing to sue Suharto in a civil case, in a bid to recover state funds from his charitable foundations alleged to have been misused.
Yunus Hussein, chairman of the Financial Transaction Report and Analysis Centre, said Indonesia has the biggest number of suspicious financial transactions globally.
But he said proving the money had been obtained through corruption was difficult. (*)
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Corruption remains widespread in Indonesia and is getting more sophisticated despite the government's high-profile drive to eradicate it, officials involved in fighting graft said on Thursday.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the country's first direct election in October 2004 on a pledge to end corruption. Experts have consistently rated Indonesia as among the world's most corrupt.
"I believe corruption is still the same as before, but it has now different types, occurs in different areas. Previously it was more centralised but now it's spread all over the country," said Amien Sunaryadi, deputy chairman of the powerful Corruption Eradication Commission.
The commission was established in 2003 to investigate corruption cases and prosecute suspects because the government believed the Attorney General's office lacked the capacity to deal with mounting graft cases.
Since Yudhoyono's high-profile anti-graft campaign started, officials ranging from a former religious affairs minister to the governor of Aceh province have been jailed on corruption charges.
But Sunaryadi said corruption had become more sophisticated.
"We arrested old players but new players keep coming," Sunaryadi was quoted by Reuters as telling foreign correspondents.
Todung Mulya Lubis, chairman of the corruption watchdog Transparency International Indonesia, said Yudhoyono's failure to bring former President Suharto to justice for alleged corruption showed some powerful people were still above the law.
"He (Yudhoyono) has disappointed a lot of people. We are quite upset," he said.
Suharto, who resigned amid civil unrest in 1998 after more than 30 years of iron-fisted rule, was charged with graft but escaped prosecution as courts accepted medical statements he was too ill to stand trial.
The former president and family members deny any wrongdoing.
The Attorney General's office said in May it was preparing to sue Suharto in a civil case, in a bid to recover state funds from his charitable foundations alleged to have been misused.
Yunus Hussein, chairman of the Financial Transaction Report and Analysis Centre, said Indonesia has the biggest number of suspicious financial transactions globally.
But he said proving the money had been obtained through corruption was difficult. (*)