Prosecutors Investigate The Tanjung Priok Port Mafia Corruption Case

DKI Jakarta Prosecutor's Office/DOK ANTARA

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office has conducted an investigation into the alleged corruption case at the Tanjung Priok Port, which is suspected to be related to the port mafia.

The Head of the Legal Information Center (Kapuspenkum) of the Attorney General's Office, Leonard Eben Ezer Simanjuntak, said that the Head of the DKI Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office had issued an Investigation Order Number: 2973/M.1/Fd.1/12/2021 dated December 14, 2021.

"The Jakarta Attorney General's Office has issued an investigation warrant related to the port mafia issue that meets the qualifications for a corruption crime," Leonard said, quoted from a written statement, Tuesday, December 14.

The investigation of the case relates to the reduced state revenue from export earnings and import duties by a number of export and import companies.

These companies, Leonard said, received facilities for import-export purposes (KITE) and facilities for the use of bonded zones at the Tanjung Priok Port for the period 2015 to 2021.

"The company abused the KITE facility by manipulating data and sending goods in the form of garments from 2015 to 2021," Leonard said.

The form of manipulation carried out is that export and import companies carry out import activities in the form of garments to Indonesia, then use import facilities with the aim of exporting the imported goods in the form of garments to be processed into products, then export abroad.

According to him, the state should receive foreign exchange income from these exports. However, this is not done by the said export/import company and sells the imported goods (garments) in the domestic market.

According to Leonard, the ease of import without import duty aims to make export-import companies export imported goods with the aim of the state getting income/receipt from the country's foreign exchange sector in the form of exports.

"However, a number of these companies violated the KITE facility by selling imported goods domestically without exporting the goods," said Leonard.

As a result of the actions of a number of export/import companies, Leonard said, it had an effect on the country's economy in terms of reducing export foreign exchange and affecting the level or price of the domestic market.