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OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0208/01 0320534
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 010534Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7862
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1950
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1476
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 2290
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP 0051
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000208 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, INR/EAP, INL FOR BOULDIN 
DEPT FOR EEB/IFD/OMA 
DOJ/OPDAT FOR LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE 
SINGAPORE FOR BAKER 
TREASURY FOR IA-BAUKOL 
DEPT PASS FEDERAL RESERVE SAN FRANCISCO FOR FINEMAN 
DEPT PASS EXIM BANK 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR BWEISEL, KEHLERS 
NSC FOR EPHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2018 
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCOR KMCA ID
SUBJECT: CORRUPTION UPDATE -- SUSPECTS NAMED IN HIGHLY 
PUBLICIZED CENTRAL BANK CASE 
 
REF: A. 07 JAKARTA 3378 
 
     ¶B. 07 JAKARTA 3349 
     ¶C. 07 JAKARTA 3326 
     ¶D. 07 JAKARTA 2974 
     ¶E. 07 JAKARTA 2229 
 
JAKARTA 00000208  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: POL/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) 
named the current Bank Indonesia Governor a suspect in a case 
involving the alleged diversion of funds to legislators.  In 
other news:  evidence has surfaced that several officials 
received bribes related to the procurement of fire trucks; 
the heirs of recently deceased former president Suharto will 
inherit a civil suit due to a judge's ruling; and, the GOI 
has scored a victory in its long running effort to recover 
stolen assets stashed overseas.  END SUMMARY. 
 
CENTRAL BANK CHIEF INDICTED 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In a highly publicized case, the Corruption 
Eradication Commission (KPK) formally declared Bank Indonesia 
(BI) Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah a suspect in a corruption 
case involving the diversion of bank funds (ref A).  Two 
other BI officials have also been named suspects.  According 
to KPK statements, the three men authorized the diversion of 
over USD 10 million in bank funds to private lawyers and 
members of Parliament (DPR).  The money was apparently 
intended to win passage of legislation favorable to BI in 
Parliament and to defend BI officials from corruption 
allegations related to the Bank Indonesia Liquidity 
Assistance scandal (ref C). 
 
¶3.  (C) While no legislators have been questioned to date, 
newly-installed KPK Chief Antasari Azhar intimated that one 
current and one former member of the DPR are currently under 
scrutiny.  The DPR connection makes this a key case for 
Antasari, whose selection as KPK Chief was opposed by 
anti-corruption activists who feared that he would be 
susceptible to political influence (ref B).  The indictment 
of a parliamentarian, should one occur, would give a 
significant boost to the reputation of the KPK's new leaders. 
 
 
WHERE THERE'S SMOKE... 
 
¶4.  (U) In a separate case, evidence has emerged that a 
former minister is among those who received kickbacks in the 
purchase of fire trucks by regional governments.  According 
to reports, in 2002 the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a 
document naming PT Istana Sarana Raya as the sole approved 
vendor of fire trucks to the provinces.  Eleven regional 
governments proceeded to purchase trucks from the company, 
despite the fact that they were priced well above the market 
rate. 
 
¶5.  (U) According to KPK investigators, a company official 
made payments to more than a dozen Ministry and regional 
officials in 2004.  One of the largest payments, about USD 
$40,000, went towards the purchase of a home that was later 
occupied by the then Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno. 
A former mayor has already been named a suspect in the case, 
and the KPK has questioned several sitting and former 
governors. 
 
SUHARTO'S HEIRS TO BE SUED 
 
¶6.  (SBU) There has been a key court ruling in the aftermath 
of former president Suharto's January 27 death.  The 
presiding judge in a civil suit against Suharto ruled that 
his heirs would inherit the suit.  The judge ordered that a 
religious court make a legal determination regarding the 
 
JAKARTA 00000208  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
identity of the heirs.  Prosecutors are attempting to recover 
USD $420 million in state funds they say were illegally 
diverted to Suharto's Supersemar foundation (ref D). 
 
RECOVERING STOLEN ASSETS 
 
¶7.  (U) Indonesia took a small step forward in its efforts to 
recover stolen state assets stashed overseas.  The Ministry 
of Law and Human Rights announced the recovery of USD $3 
million that had been stolen by Hendra Rahardja and Adrian 
Kiki Aryawan.  The two former bank directors were convicted 
on corruption charges several years ago, but it took the GOI 
some time to recover the funds, which had been deposited into 
an Australian bank. 
 
¶8.  (U) The news gives hope that the GOI will succeed in 
recovering additional assets, including some USD $15 million 
held in Switzerland by convicted corruptor ECW Neloe and USD 
$50 million in Britain belonging to Tommy Suharto, son of the 
former president (ref E).  The KPK has made asset recovery a 
top priority, and it is a key theme of the Second Conference 
of State Parties on the UN Convention Against Corruption 
(UNCAC), which Indonesia is currently hosting in Bali. 
 
HUME