VZCZCXRO4662
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #2246/01 3471043
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121043Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0953
INFO RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP PRIORITY 0104
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5727
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3400
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RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5226
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2843
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 3332
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 3163
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 1337
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 0788
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
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RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 002246 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR DOJ FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL MUKASEY 
FOR FBI FOR DIRECTOR MUELLER 
TREASURY/IA FOR RACHEL BAYLY 
MCC FOR MARIA LONGI 
DOJ FOR CRIM AAG SWARTZ 
DOJ/OIA FOR WARNER/ROBINSON 
DOJ/OPDAT FOR ALEXANDRE/BERMAN/JOHNSON 
DOJ/PUBLIC INTEGRITY FOR AINSWORTH 
USAID FOR ANE/AA WARD 
NSC FOR E. PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KJUS KCOR ID
SUBJECT: ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION'S FBI VISIT:  A KEY 
OPPORTUNITY FOR FURTHER ENGAGEMENT 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 2155 
     ¶B. JAKARTA 1815 
 
JAKARTA 00002246  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified--Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The FBI's work with the Indonesian 
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is a vital component 
of our bilateral partnership with Indonesia in the area of 
law enforcement and rule of law reform.   On November 18, FBI 
Deputy Director Pistole and KPK Chair Antasari Azhar signed a 
MOU which affirmed the ongoing collaboration of the two 
agencies. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) SUMMARY (Con'd):  During the signing ceremony, the 
Deputy Director invited Azhar and other members of the KPK to 
visit the U.S. in mid-December.  This visit will give the KPK 
an opportunity to meet face-to-face with its counterparts at 
the FBI and DOJ.  The meetings with Attorney General Mukasey 
and FBI Director Mueller will be the capstones of the trip. 
Azhar's bio information is included in paras 11-12.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
A LEADING REFORM ORGANIZATION 
 
¶4.   (SBU) The Corruption Eradication Commission, an 
independent government institution, is leading the campaign 
to combat corruption in Indonesia (ref B).  The KPK has 
expanded authority to conduct corruption investigations and 
try cases in a specialized Anti-Corruption Court, which has a 
100% conviction rate.  The KPK has arrested several 
high-level corruption suspects in 2008: a senior prosecutor 
in the Attorney General's Office (AGO); six members of 
Parliament--from both government coalition and opposition 
parties; a former central bank head; and, a former central 
bank governor who is the father-in-law of one of President 
Yudhoyono's sons.  These high profile arrests have increased 
not only the credibility of the KPK, but also the credibility 
of the Yudhoyono administration, putting more than words 
behind the President's strong public stance against 
corruption. 
 
¶5.  (U) Increased personnel, a focus on capacity building, 
and strategic partnerships help to explain the rising 
operational tempo and growing institutional strength at the 
KPK.  The KPK has nearly doubled the number of its 
investigators (111 now) and prosecutors (28 now) since 2005. 
The KPK's long-term strategy balances prosecution and 
prevention.  The KPK is on track to conduct more 
investigations in 2008 than any previous year (ref B). 
 
U.S. VISIT 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On November 18, Deputy Director Pistole signed a 
Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation with the 
Corruption Eradication Commission.  This MOU complements the 
June 9 agreement on anti-corruption signed by Attorney 
General Mukasey, making a total of seven current law 
enforcement agreements between U.S. and Indonesian agencies. 
Department of Justice and the FBI have already partnered with 
Indonesia in several areas:  counterterrorism; 
 
JAKARTA 00002246  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
anti-corruption; criminal procedure reform; anti-money 
laundering; asset forfeiture; trafficking in persons; 
environment protection; and, in the building of overall 
investigative and prosecutorial capacity. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) USG assistance has already made a tangible 
difference.  The conviction of senior AG prosecutor, Urip Tri 
Gunawan, was due in large part to the USG-provided 
wiretapping capability of the KPK.  Indonesian law allows the 
admission of tape recordings as evidence only for certain 
crimes, including corruption.  The defense was unable to 
refute tape recorded evidence, and the tape recordings sent a 
powerful message to members of the Indonesian Parliament who 
remarked that they would need to be careful what they said in 
public and over the phone. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) During their visit to Washington on December 15-16, 
the KPK delegation, led by KPK Chairman Antasari Azhar, will 
visit the FBI Academy at Quantico to tour the training 
facility, meet with the FBI Central Authority, and with the 
Asset Forfeiture Unit.  The visit to the Asset Forfeiture 
Unit is of special interest to the KPK as it is now exploring 
how to seize questionable assets. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) At FBI Headquarters, the group will meet with the 
Anti-Corruption Division, the Strategic Information 
Operations Center (SIOC), and the undercover division.  In 
addition to these meetings, KPK Chair Azhar will discuss with 
FBI Director Mueller and Attorney General Mukasey specifics 
regarding the implementation of the recently signed MOU (ref 
A).  Following their meetings on December 15, the group will 
attend a dinner hosted by Rod and Carla Hills, who are 
establishing a good governance center in Indonesia. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Chandra Hamzah, a vice chairman of the KPK and 
head of the Investigations Unit, is part of the delegation to 
the United States.  As head of the investigations division, 
his participation in the substantive meetings at the FBI 
Academy is critical to building cooperative links between GOI 
law enforcement officials and their USG counterparts. 
 
ANTASARI AZHAR: BIO INFORMATION 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Antasari Azhar was appointed to be Chair of the 
KPK in December 2007.  Prior to this appointment, Azhar 
served as the Director of the Prosecutor's Office at the AGO. 
 His appointment as Director of the Prosecutor's Office 
followed a 23-year career as a prosecutor with the AGO.  He 
received his law degree from Sriwijaya University and studied 
Commercial Law at New South Wales University in Sydney.  Many 
civil society members considered Azhar's appointment last 
December to head the KPK as controversial due to Azhar's 
decision not to prosecute Tommy Suharto, the former 
President's son, while he worked at the Attorney General's 
Office.  All observers now, however, applaud the selection of 
Azhar. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The KPK has earned the public's trust under 
Azhar's leadership.  Some observers complain about the KPK's 
perceived lack of transparency in selecting cases; however, 
little of this criticism is directly targeted at Azhar. 
 
JAKARTA 00002246  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
Thanks to Azhar, the KPK is leading reform throughout the 
Indonesian government and is ranked as one of the most 
trusted agencies in Indonesia. 
 
HUME