AG, Pertamina set up to joint team to investigate 159 contracts
By: Hans Bodega & George Blunt
Tuesday, July 18 2000 - 09:30 AM WIB
The Attorney General office and state oil and gas company Pertamina have set up a joint team to investigate the 159 contracts entered into the state company and its contractors.
Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said the team was formed to operate from April 27 to July 17 this year.
The team may continue their work for another three months if the investigation was not completed by July 17, Marzuki said during a recent hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission VIII, which oversees mines and energy affairs.
Marzuki said during that hearing that the team had investigated 34 of the contracts until June 17, nine of which showed indications of corruption.
Pertamina's spokesman Ramli Djaafar said told Petromindo.Com on Tuesday the number of contracts showing indications of corruption had increased to 14.
He said the documents on the 14 contracts would be delivered by Pertamina to the Attorney General's office by the end of this month, but he refused to name the companies.
"After the documents on the 14 contracts are delivered, we shall send documents on another eight contracts which also show indications of corruption," he said.
Ramli denied a deadline had been set for the team to carry out the investigation.
"The team will continue investigation until all the corruption cases are resolved," he said, adding that the team includes three public prosecutors from the Attorney General's office and officials from Pertamina's inspectorate division.
Pertamina announced after the resignation of former President Soeharto in 1998 that it had discovered 159 contracts entered into the state company and its contractors, which smacked of corruption, collusion and nepotism. All the contracts involve Soeharto's family and cronies. (*)