Officials accused of taking kickbacks from illegal miner
Saturday, August 11 2001 - 02:16 AM WIB
Senior officials of the Kotabaru regency customs and excise office in South Kalimantan have allegedly received money from CV Gunung Tambora to open the way for the company to smuggle some 29,500 metric tons of illegal coal to Thailand.
The local Banjarmasin Post daily said that the company paid some Rp 167 million (US$1=Rp 9,100) to the custom and excise office.
The paper reporter earlier that on August 2, 2001, the company managed to ship the illegal coal. The paper said that head of the Yalam legal aid foundation Noor Ifansyah had provided a legal opinion at the request of CV Gunung Tambora.
The case has raised question to Yalam?s anti illegal mining crusade. Yalam has earlier filed a legal suit against the Kotabaru administration for receiving funds from illegal coal mining operations to help plug local budget hole.(*)