Tax corruption

Secretary general of the Transparency International Indonesia (TII), Teten Masduki, believes that the tax corruption case implicating Gayus Tambunan, 30, taxation office employee class IIIA, couldn't have been a solo act, especially considering that the young suspect relatively hasn't been in the taxation office for very long.

"I believe he's the operator of a tax mafia whose network needs to be uncovered. It's possible that it might implicate other taxation employees," stated Teten to Kompas, Monday, Jakarta.

Similar to Teten's opinion, economy observer Dradjat Wibowo also stated, "I'm sure Gayus' case is only the tip of the iceberg. Let this be the momentum to scour the mafia in the taxation and customs & excise offices."

Finance minister to trace assets

Separately, the finance minister has been advised to do a shifting burden of proof method on the suspicious assets of all the staff of the taxation and customs & excise offices.

The hifting burden of proof is to confirm tha the assets are from reasonable sources and not from mafia practices, as revealed in the Gayus Tambunan case recently.

"The finance minister, the directorate general for taxation Mochamad Tjiptadjo, and the directorate general for customs and excise Thomas Sugijata, should make a breakthrough for all the staff of the taxation and customs & excise offices by inspecting their assets through the Department of Finance's Inspectorate General and by involving public accountants in the near future," stated Teten.

"If suspicious and considered abnormal, then the finance minister, the directorate general for taxation, and the directorate general for customs and excise should bring the case to the Corruption Eradication Commission for further probing. If proven guilty, then legal sanctions can be applied, or administrative sanctions by dismissals."

Teten is sure that such a breakthrough will be a deterrent for any corruption, bribery, or mafia practices in both offices.

Indonesian officials hailed the detention of a fugitive tax official accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes, but analysts said Thursday that much more needs to be done if the country is serious about fighting corruption.

Tax department officer Gayus Tambunan was tracked down in Singapore after a week on the run and convinced to voluntarily return to Indonesia on Wednesday to face charges that he accumulated some $3.9 million in kickbacks for producing favorable tax assessments.

A member of the special government task force in charge of investigating corruption among the so-called “legal mafia” said Tambunan’s surrender was a key moment in the country’s fight against graft.

“This is the first time that we can reveal a big legal mafia case that involves many officials within government departments, police and other legal apparatus,” Denny Indrayana said. Tambunan’s case has dominated Indonesian headlines since it started to unfold three weeks ago, with each new allegation casting a wider shadow on government officials, police and the judiciary.

In a country familiar with widespread corruption sometimes on a massive scale — former dictator Suharto was accused of graft to the tune of $600 million in his 32 years in power — the case of a public official accused of amassing a relatively small fortune wouldn’t normally grab such attention.

But what caught the eye is the speed with which the 30-year-old midlevel civil servant with a salary of $1,300 per month is accused of building a stockpile that included expensive cars and a luxury home. Investigators say he did so in just over a year.

Also putting the case in the spotlight is the alleged involvement of senior police officers, prosecutors and judges in working to free Tambunan. The assets held in Tambunan’s name were reported to police last year and he was charged with embezzlement in a court case that drew no attention.

But when the four-month trial ended in March with Tambunan’s acquittal, senior police investigator Gen. Susno Duadji went public saying the tax official had bribed his own officers to present a weaker case to the court and allow him access to his frozen accounts.

As the investigation grew, Tambunan fled the country. Tambunan, now being held for questioning, is facing new, more serious charges of money-laundering and corruption and, if convicted, faces 20 years in jail. Tambunan has yet to publicly comment, but task force officials say he admitted to corruption in interviews before he fled and said many colleagues were also involved.

While some in the government say the resolve with which the case was pursued is a sign that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s commitment to stamping out corruption is working, analysts say it is unlikely that a midlevel official acted alone and little has been done to go after more powerful officials.

“The case of Gayus should not be viewed as putting an end to corruption by famous politicians and businessman,” prominent economist Christianto Wibisono said. “The state needs to have the courage to do what is truly needed to stop government from being hijacked by powerful businessmen.”

He said the government must address the core issues that allow corruption to flourish in Indonesia. He said a start would be to pass stricter conflict of interest laws for politicians and to implement blind trusts for the assets of businessmen entering politics.