KPK Calls Internal Supervision Of The Ministry Of Finance At The Directorate General Of Customs And Taxes Weak

Former Head Of Makassar Customs Andhi Pramono/PHOTO: Wardhany Tsa Tsia-VOI

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) revealed internal supervision at the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu), especially the Directorate General of Customs and weak taxes. The proof is that former Head of Makassar Customs Andhi Pramono and former official Directorate General of Taxes at the Ministry of Finance Rafael were named suspects in alleged gratification and money laundering.

"(The case, ed) actually shows weaknesses in the internal control system in the two institutions. In this case, tax or customs," said KPK Deputy Chair Alexander Marwata to reporters at the KPK's Merah Putih building, Kuningan Persada, Friday, July 7.

Alexander then mentioned the Andhi Pramono case, which turned out to have received gratification in the form of a fee as a broker or intermediary for 10 years. "It took a long time, it means, actually, if the inherent supervision goes well, of course, we can prevent incidents like this from the start," he said.

Not only that, Alexander also assessed that incidents such as Andhi and Rafael Alun could not be unknown to other employees in his agency.

"Normatively, it is impossible (an employee, ed) to gather such a large wealth and we believe that it is impossible for his colleague or leader to not know," he said.

As previously reported, the KPK has detained the former Head of Makassar Customs and Excise Andhi Pramono. He is suspected of receiving gratuities in the form of fees after becoming a broker for export-import entrepreneurs.

To make this acceptance, Andhi allegedly used an account belonging to his trusted person who was a businessman. They became nominees so that the gift to him was not detected.

It didn't stop there, Andhi was also suspected of committing a crime of money laundering (TPPU). This allegation arose because he disguised the purchase of assets using the names of other people, including his mother-in-law.

Andhi is said that the KPK received a fee of up to Rp28 billion and the amount could continue to grow. The money was then purchased for various purposes such as diamonds, insurance policies, to houses in the Pejaten area, South Jakarta worth Rp20 billion.