KPK to Investigate Corruption in Private Sector
Wednesday, 20 December, 2006 | 16:39 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Private sector corruption will be included in the Law No.21/2000 amendment on Corruption Crime Eradication.

“The Justice and Human Rights Department will discuss the amendment,” said Amin Sunaryadi, Deputy Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), in Jakarta yesterday (19/12).

If this provision is agreed upon, Amin said he believed that the anti-corruption institution was authorized to look into corruption criminal acts not only as regards cases related to public officials, but also corruption in the private sector.

Without a provision that regulates corruption in the private sector, probes into crimes in the private sector cannot be connected to corruption.

“Now we cannot investigate corruption case in the private sector due to legal limitations.”

Amin said that the entry of private sector corruption cases discussion in the Law No21/2000 amendment—KPK’s activity legal standing—is a follow-up to the United Nations’s Anti-corruption Convention in December 2003.

According to Syamsa Ardisasmita, KPK’s Deputy for Information and Data, there are dirty practices in the private sector that need attention.

These include: the mark-up of a company’s asset value by evaluators; financial mark-ups carried out by companies going public, with the help of public accountants or financial advisors; and manipulation of controller shares ownership transfers and listed company asset transfers.

As a preliminary step to eradicate corruption in the private sector, yesterday the KPK signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Capital Market Supervisory Board (Bapepam).

This anti-corruption organization will start investigating corruption cases in private public sector companies.

“The cooperation is aimed at creating a healthy business climate in the capital market industry and financial institutions,” said Fuad Rahmany, Bapepam Head, in Jakarta yesterday.

In the capital market, said Fuad, there are various modus operandi for financial crimes that can be defined as acts of corruption.

The most sensitive sectors are insurance and the capital market.

“For example, money laundering or quasi-transactions,” he said.

Yuliawati and Anton Aprianto