VZCZCXRO0386
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0019/01 0061021
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 061021Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1153
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS COLL PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP PRIORITY 0107
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5791
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RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 1558
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1547
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2573
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5295
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2918
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 3397
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 3218
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 1389
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000019 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INL 
INL FOR ROESS/BARCLAY 
DEPT FOR EEB/IFD/OMA 
DOJ/OPDAT FOR LEHAMNN/ALEXANDRE/JOHNSON 
MCC FOR LONGI 
SINGAPORE FOR BAKER 
TREASURY FOR M.NUGGET AND T. RAND 
NSC FOR E. PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCOR ID
SUBJECT: CORRUPTION PROSECUTIONS OFF TO A STRONG START IN 
2009 
 
REF: 08 JAKARTA 2177 
 
JAKARTA 00000019  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Corruption prosecutions are off to a 
strong start in 2009 with the January 5 conviction of a 
sitting member of Parliament on graft charges.  Meanwhile, 
anti-corruption results in 2008 were positive--the Corruption 
Eradication Commission (KPK) investigated and prosecuted a 
record number of corruption cases last year.  The 
anti-corruption body also recovered over $36.5 million in 
state assets, a record amount.  There are concerns that 
corruption may ramp up during the upcoming electoral season 
due to all the money sloshing around.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2009 PROSECUTIONS START STRONG 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The GOI has netted its first major success in its 
anti-corruption efforts in the new year.  On January 5, a 
sitting member of parliament, Al-Amin Nasution, was sentenced 
to eight years in prison and fined $23,256 on graft charges. 
Nasution, who is a member of the United Development Party (a 
Muslim-oriented party), was the first sitting member of the 
Indonesian Parliament (DPR) to be convicted of corruption. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In terms of specifics, the Anti-Corruption Court 
(ACC) found Nasution guilty of receiving $368,000 in bribes 
from multiple sources.  He also extorted funds in exchange 
for facilitating the approval of protected forest conversion 
permits, and extracted favors for assisting tenders for 
forestry survey equipment and global positioning system 
(GPS).  In the meantime, the GOI is moving forward with a 
number of other high profile prosecutions. 
 
KEY ANTI-CORRUPTION BODY HAS A RECORD YEAR 
 
¶5.  (SBU) 2008 was a record year for GOI anti-corruption 
efforts.  The GOI's key anti-corruption body, the KPK, 
returned $36.5 million in state assets from corruption cases 
to Indonesia's coffers.  The recovered state assets in 2008 
were ten times greater than the amount recovered from 
corruption cases in 2007.  Because the KPK only counted the 
state assets which were actually recovered and not assets 
which are flagged for recovery or pending, many of these 
assets were identified in 2007, but not actually recovered 
until 2008.  Additionally, the KPK investigated and 
prosecuted a record number of cases in 2008. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) During the KPK's year-end conference on December 
30, Chair Antasari Azhar claimed that the KPK had prevented 
approximately $16 million in potential losses to the state 
through preventative measures.  These measures and internal 
reforms included securing state assets to make those assets 
less likely to be used by potential corrupters and requiring 
state officials to report their wealth to the Commission. 
 
¶7.  (U) The successes of the KPK and the ACC were not echoed 
by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and the general 
courts.  According to Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) data, 
of the 444 people charged with corruption in 2008, 62% were 
acquitted in the general court system, from the district 
courts to the Supreme Court.  The percentage of acquittals 
 
JAKARTA 00000019  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
has steadily increased from 22.5% in 2005 to the current 
percentage.  Of the 167 defendants found guilty, most were 
sentenced to five years or less in prison.  This is in stark 
contrast to the Anti-Corruption Court, which has a 100% 
conviction rate. 
 
CONCERNS ABOUT ELECTION SEASON 
 
¶8.  (SBU) There are concerns about an increase in corruption 
during the upcoming legislative and presidential election 
season.  With thousands of candidates and millions of dollars 
sloshing about, there are concerns that public officials may 
be approached to do favors for political parties. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) For example, the Indonesian Forum for Budget 
Transparency (FITRA), a budgetary watchdog organization, 
warned the central government on January 5 that budgetary 
surpluses at the provincial and regional levels could be used 
illegally to fund legislative campaigns.  The regulations 
regarding the distribution of these funds are poorly written. 
 FITRA urged vigilance in monitoring the situation. 
 
HEFFERN