KPK Summons Former Minister over Hambalang Case

Jakarta (Antara) - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has summoned Adhyaksa Dault, the former sports and youth affairs minister, in connection with the Hambalang sports center project corruption case. "I am called as a witness in Mahfud Suroso's case. I do not know who he is. It seems that when there is a new suspect, I am summoned," Dault stated here on Wednesday. He was the sports and youth affairs minister between 2004 and 2009 and was succeeded by Andi Alifian Mallarangeng. Besides Mahfud Suroso, other suspects in the Hambalang corruption case are former chairman of the Democratic Party Anas Urbanigrum, Teuku Bagus Mokhamad Noor of PT Adhi Karya, Andi Malarangeng, and Deddy Kusdinar of the sports and youth affairs ministry. Deddy Kusdinar was sentenced to six years imprisonment and fined Rp300 million. The state incurred losses amounting to Rp464.391 billion due to the Hambalang project corruption case. In November 2013, the KPK named Mahfud Suroso, the director of PT Dutasari Citralaras, as a suspect in a graft case centering on the construction of the Hambalang sports complex in Bogor, West Java. "MS (Mahfud Suroso) as the president director of PT Dutasari has allegedly violated article 2 (1) or article 3 of Law No.31/1999 on corruption eradication in reference to Law No.20/2001. MS is also charged with article 55 (1) point 1 of the Criminal Code (KUHP)," claimed KPK spokesman Johan Budi SP at the anti-graft body headquarters in Jakarta, last year. He pointed out that Mahfud was named a suspect after the KPK investigators conducted further probe on the alleged corruption reported during the construction of the sports center in Hambalang. Johan stated that based on a case explanation on November 3, the investigators obtained new evidence that was strong enough for the commission to name MS as a suspect. "After expanding the investigation, the KPK found evidence that was adequate enough. On November 4, the KPK issued a sprindik (a letter authorizing a full investigation into a case) for MS," he noted. Mahfud has been questioned as a witness on several occasions due to his position as the director of Dutasari, an Adhi Karya subcontractor involved in the Hambalang project worth Rp1.2 trillion (US$105.6 million). (*)