Searching Panin Bank Head Office Regarding Alleged Corruption At The Directorate General Of Taxes, KPK Finds Evidence

Gedung KPK (Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators conducted a search at the Panin Bank Head Office on Tuesday, March 23. This was done to investigate allegations of tax audit corruption in 2016-2017 at the Directorate General of Taxes.

"The search was carried out from 10.00 WIB to around 21.00 WIB," said Acting KPK Spokesperson for Enforcement Affairs Ali Fikri in a written statement, Wednesday, March 24.

From the search, a number of pieces of evidence were found. One of them is a document that is suspected of being related to a case being investigated by the KPK.

"And electronic goods related to the case," he explained.

Ali did not elaborate on the documents and evidence. However, he said the items had been confiscated for investigators to investigate.

"Furthermore, the evidence will be analyzed immediately to submit its confiscation and become part of the investigation case file in question," he said.

Previously reported, the alleged corruption crime at the Directorate General of Taxes was confirmed by KPK Deputy Chairman Alexander Marwata. on Tuesday, March 2nd. Despite confirming the investigation, the anti-graft commission has not yet wanted to announce a suspect in the case.

"We are really investigating, but the suspect will be later. In that investigation we are looking for evidence to determine the suspect. This is what we are doing," Alex told reporters at the KPK's Red and White House, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta.

The KPK, he continued, had named a suspect in this case. However, he did not want to explain further considering that the investigating team is currently still working on gathering evidence in the case.

Alex had leaked the mode of the tax corruption case he was currently investigating. According to him, the mode used in this case was the same as the case that had been handled by the KPK, namely that taxpayers gave bribes to tax auditors so that the tax value was low.

In addition, he also explained, the value of tax bribes that has occurred currently is around tens of billions of rupiah. "The bribes are also in the tens of billions. It is not wrong that it also involves a team of examiners. If the tax is that way, how do you make the taxpayers pay low taxes by bribing the examiner so that the tax is lowered," said Alex.