Sri Mulyani Called Bribe Recipients At The Directorate General Of Taxes Traitors: This Hurts The Feelings Of All Ministry Of Finance Employees

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani stated firmly that bribery in the management of state finances is a dirty act and cannot be accepted at all. He made this statement during the press statement on the alleged bribery case involving officials from the Tax Directorate.

"The alleged bribery involving the Directorate General of Taxes employees is clearly a betrayal and has hurt the feelings of all Ministry of Finance employees throughout Indonesia," he said virtually, Wednesday, March 3.

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani added that all individuals in the Ministry of Finance must uphold the principles of integrity and professionalism at work.

"If the allegation is proven, then this is a betrayal for the efforts of all ranks who are currently focused on collecting state revenue," he said.

The fury of the former World Bank boss is quite reasonable. This is because the government is currently in a difficult condition to collect revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Taxes are the backbone of state revenue, we are currently in a situation facing COVID-19. It is clear that we need income to help the process of economic recovery. For this reason, we really strive for state revenue, "he said.

For information, allegations of bribery received by unscrupulous employees of the Directorate General of Taxation occurred based on public reports in early 2020. From this information, the Ministry of Finance then took quick steps by optimizing the function of the internal compliance unit.

Not only that, Sri Mulyani said that the Ministry of Finance is also collaborating with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to thoroughly investigate this bribery case.

"We do not tolerate acts of corruption and violations of the code of ethics committed by all or by anyone within the Ministry of Finance employees," he said.