Ex-CPC officer called on suspect Thomas to call sugar imports a “mafia” – Politika

A former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator has urged graft suspect Thomas Lembong, who served as trade minister in 2015-2016, to help authorities in uncovering alleged corruption in the country’s sugar trade.

“Tom Lembong must become an officer of justice,” Judy Purnomo said in a written statement Thursday, quoted Kompas.comreferring to the Harvard-educated politician’s nickname.

Last month, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) named Thomas as a suspect in a corruption case related to a 2015 sugar import deal when he was trade minister.

Thomas reportedly issued a permit to a private company called PT AP to import 105,000 tons of raw sugar, which he then processed into white crystalline sugar.

Existing rules stipulate that only a state-owned enterprise can import sugar, while an inter-ministerial meeting determined that Indonesia has a surplus of sugar and does not need to import the commodity.

Youdi also said that the current investigation into the case, which has been going on for almost nine years, shows that there is a wider network of corruption in the sector. If so, Thomas would likely know the key players involved in the decision-making process, he said, including the official who signed off on the import permits.

He urged Thomas to cooperate with the authorities and provide any relevant information to prevent a similar incident, saying that allowing at least eight private companies to import sugar had cost the state about 400 billion rupiah (US$25.5 million).

“By cooperating, Thomas can not only protect his own innocence, but expose those who exploited the system,” Youdy said in a statement.

The ex-CPC investigator also appealed to the AGO to investigate the sugar import case more thoroughly, rather than simply pointing to Thomas as a suspect. He stressed the importance of looking into the entire alleged web of corruption to ensure that future sugar imports follow established procedures.

The AGO also named the business director of state-owned trading company PT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia, identified as CS, as a suspect in the case.

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