Mario Dandy Satrio's Case Exposes Corrupt Behavior At Ministry Of Finance

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani was asked to resign by Bursok Anthony Marlon, official of the Regional Office of the Directorate General of Taxes of North Sumatra II. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A)

JAKARTA – The commotion that hit the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) continues. Bursok Anthony Marlon (BAM), an official from the North Sumatra II DGT Regional Office filed a complaint about the attitude of the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati in responding to mass media reports regarding the child abuse case of Rafael Alun Trisambodo, Mario Dandy Satrio.

BAM's complaint was contained in a letter dated 27 February 2023. BAM questioned why Sri Mulyani was so quick to make a decision that within days after the case surfaced, Rafael Alun left the DGT. Why did Sri Mulyani also comment on the Blasting Rijder Community?

"With your enormous influence in this world, I thought you would not be carried away by the media flow and the criticism of netizens who linked Mario Dandy Satrio with Rafael Alun Trisambodo," BAM wrote in a letter circulating on Twitter.

BAM considered that Sri Mulyani's response was very reckless. Mario is already 20 years old. Legally he is fully responsible for all his actions.

"You should have suppressed from the start that an adult, in terms of breaking the law, could no longer be associated with his parents, let alone with the Directorate General of Taxes," he said.

But instead, said BAM, "You herself have joined in linking Mario Dandy Satrio's criminal acts with his parents and the Directorate General of Taxation, so I suspect that you directly or indirectly took part in destroying the image of the DGT that I love, so that it's tarnished. ”

In the end, many other DGT employees are currently affected. In fact, there are taxpayers who swear when reminded to submit an annual tax return.

“Are you satisfied now?” BAM said.

BAM was also surprised that the same response was not seen when he filed a complaint involving the Director General of Taxes and the Minister of Finance in 2021. Even though this has strong indications of causing a loss of trillions of rupiah in state finances.

Public trust in the performance of the Directorate General of Taxes has declined. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)

"You don't mind at all, you even cover it up with a FAKE/false letter number S-11/IJ.9/2022 dated April 21, 2022," wrote BAM.

“Do I need to get it viral so that my complaint can be processed? Or is it true that corrupt behavior and violations of the code of ethics are actually ingrained in the DGT/Ministry of Finance so that you and friends of suspected corrupt persons are deliberately covering up corrupt behavior with selective logging laws?” he continued.

BAM claims to have sent a complaint letter since May 27 2021 with ticket number TKT-215E711063 and Register Numbers eml-2022-0020-9d33 and eml-2022-0023-24a6 via email [email protected]. Not receiving a significant response, BAM then also sent a letter of complaint to the Chair and Deputy Speaker of the DPR RI on November 24, 2022.

If within five days, the Ministry of Finance does not respond, BAM will make a police report.

"It's really fatal that the DGT/Ministry of Finance was unable to resolve my complaint regarding a fake corporation which did not have an NPWP and which was indicated to have committed a tax crime violation and was transferred to the OJK," he said.

"You should also step down as Minister of Finance because you yourself cannot supervise the people closest to you. We tax officers are instructed to 'knowing our tax payers', but you yourself do not know at all the enormous assets of those closest to you. Amazing isn't it?" wrote BAM.

Answer by the Special Staff of the Minister of Finance

The Special Staff of the Minister of Finance for Strategic Communications, Yustinus Prastowo, does not deny that BAM has indeed submitted a complaint through Wise of the Ministry of Finance, not in 2021, but in 2022. The complaint is related to an investment company where funds are collected which he suspects are fictitious and that the bank is involved in it.

"Clear this is a personal matter," said Yustinus on March 1, 2023.

The complaint has been verified by the Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Finance. However, this could not be followed up because the reporter did not include complete evidence. Thus, in the notes of the Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Finance, the reporter is asked to detail the alleged irregularities contained in the complaint.

However, BAM did not provide new evidence. Yustinus assumed, “The complaint about the personal affairs of Bursok Anthony Marlon (BAM) has never been accompanied by substance/evidence. How will it be processed?”

Even so, the Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Finance has forwarded the complaint to the OJK via letter number S-11/IJ.9/2022 dated 21 April 2022. Finally, BAM submitted the complaint again on 27 Feb 2023.

"We will process it according to the provisions. We thank you for all the input, aspirations, and criticisms no matter how harsh. Those are vitamins for us to improve and be better. However, we also will not tolerate baseless slander and attacks. Let's keep our ethics and sanity. Greetings," said Yustinus on his Twitter account.

Action Reaction

Former KPK leader for the 2015-2019 period, Saut Situmorang, assessed that Sri Mulyani herself had to answer what was conveyed by BAM so that the atmosphere could brighten.

"So, not egalitarian. So that the work climate at the Director General of Taxes remains dynamic," Saut told VOI on March 1, 2023.

However, regarding Sri Mulyani's response to the case that hit Rafael Alun, Saut believes that this is what must be done. Almost all ministries act the same, action-reaction.

As a result of public pressure, Sri Mulyani reacted by ordering an examination of Rafael Alun, ordering an LHKPN to be reported immediately, and criticizing the luxurious lifestyle.

“This is correct. We have to appreciate, when there is something you have to respond to management functions, especially regarding risk, regarding compliance. We still appreciate it," said Saut.

Saut Situmorang, former KPK leader for the 2015-2019 period. (Antara/Bernardy Ferdiansyah)

However, when using the corruption eradication approach, Sri Mulyani's attitude was impulsive, giving the impression of being half-hearted. After submitting the State Officials Wealth Report (LHKPN), what are the next steps?

“Proceed with clarification or just enter the drawer. If it's only like this, the LHKPN doesn't provide any benefits, and the behavior, in the end, remains the same. Many people only hide their wealth, only a few percent are reported," said Saut.

If you want to get the most out of it, LHKPN should not only be a place for reporting, but also must be explored. For example, where did the reporter get the house, land, car, and so on.

"Actually this is not only related to the Director General of Taxes and the Ministry of Finance, but also comprehensively for other Civil Servants," added Saut Situmorang.