KPK Calls Former Kukar Regent Rita Widyasari Receiving US Dollars From Companies Every Coal Send

US dollar (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) suspects that the former Kutai Kertanegara Regent Rita Widyasari received gratuities related to coal shipments. He is said to have pocketed money from companies conducting exploration in his area.

"RW as the Regent of Kukar at that time received gratuities from a number of companies, from the results of exploration in the form of metric tons, yes, coal," said KPK Investigation Director Asep Guntur to reporters quoted from the Indonesian KPK YouTube, Saturday, July 6.

"There is a value between 3.3 US dollars until the last one is 5.5 US dollars per matrix ton," he continued.

Asep has not detailed the amount of money received. However, the company usually sends millions of tons of coal matrices.

"Well, multiply it," he said.

Furthermore, Asep said that the money that Rita received later flowed to a number of people. Thus, the current KPK is not only investigating the gratuities it does but also money laundering (TPPU).

"Wherever the flow of funds is, we will look for them. Then we will make forced efforts in the form of searches and others," he said.

As for this case, the anti-corruption commission has confiscated vehicle attributes consisting of cars and motorbikes to billions of rupiah. This forced effort was carried out after searching nine offices and 19 houses including those belonging to a coal entrepreneur from East Kalimantan, Said Amin.

As previously reported, Rita Widyasari was named a suspect along with Commissioner of PT Media Bangun Bersama, Khairudin on January 16, 2018. Both are suspected of washing money from the results of project and licensing gratuities at the Kutai Kertanegara Provincial Government worth Rp436 billion.

Rita is currently a resident of Pondok Bambu Women's Prison, East Jakarta because she was proven to have received gratuities of Rp. 110.7 billion and bribes of up to Rp. 6 billion from permit applicants and project partners. He had to serve a sentence of 10 years in prison which was handed down by the Jakarta Corruption Court on July 6, 2018.