KPK Arrests Anggoro Widjojo

Jakarta (Antara) - KPK, Indonesia's anti-graft agency, has arrested its long-wanted corruption suspect, Anggoro Widjojo, in China. "The Indonesian immigration office and the KPK, worked in tandem with the Chinese police in Zhenzhen, to arrest its wanted suspect, Anggoro Widjojo, yesterday afternoon," Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Denny Indrayana noted in a text message here on Thursday. He informed that Anggoro, escorted by the immigration and KPK officials, was brought to Indonesia through Guangzho, China, at around 4 p.m. on Thursday. "If everything goes as per schedule, Anggoro Widjojo is expected to arrive at the Soekarno-Hatta airport at around 8.30 p.m.," he claimed. Bambang Widjojanto, one of the KPK leaders, however, is yet to divulge information about the arrest. "God willing, an explanation will be provided in due course of time," Denny emphasized. The KPK has named Anggoro, the former director of PT Masaro Radiokom, as a graft suspect in connection with the procurement of the Integrated Radio Communication System (SKRT) since June 19, 2009. The project of the Ministry of Forestry was once put on hold by the former forestry minister M. Prakosa, but it was later revived in 2007, when M.S. Kaban took over the post of forestry minister. Anggoro is accused of having influenced the members of the House Commission overseeing the forestry affairs and the Ministry of Forestry to continue the project. The House Commission, which was then led by Yusuf Erwin Faishal, later issued a recommendation on February 12, 2007, for the continuation of the project. According to the recommendation, the equipment for the project was to be procured from PT Masaro. The project was worth Rp180 billion, and the state was estimated to lose Rp13 billion. In the meantime, three parliament members have been convicted for receiving kickbacks from Anggoro in exchange for their efforts to ensure hassle-free budget allocation for the SKRT project. The three received the money in the form of Singapore dollars from Anggodo Widjojo, who is Anggoro's brother and is now already behind bars. Azwar Chesputra, Hilman Indra from the Moon and Star Party, and Fahri Andi Leluasa from the Golkar Party are serving jail sentence for receiving bribes from Anggoro in connection with a forest conversion case in the Banyuasin district in South Sumatra. Head of Planning and Finance of the Ministry of Forestry Widjojo Siswanto has also been sentenced to three years imprisonment and fined Rp100 million in April 2011, in connection with the SKRT case. (*)