In an interview in Jakarta, Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission vice chairman, Adnan Pandu Praja, said that his office will be making a several big announcements in the next six months. The Commission, or otherwise known as the KPK, had already caught government officials ranging from ministers, chief executives and central bankers on graft charges.
Praja said, "There will be a big fish in the pipeline. Corruption runs from the east to the west, from the west to the east." He did not provide any other details as to which individuals could be charged by KPK.
Bloomberg said the agency has already prosecuted 72 parliament members, six central bankers, eight government ministers, dozens of CEOs and four judges in the last ten years for its campaign against anti-corruption in the government. However, KPK is barely scratching the surface, as an astounding 7,000 graft reports across the island-decked country are recorded per year, added Praja.
Nonetheless, interest groups and even the corporate world are taking notice of KPK's efforts under Praja. Standard Chartered Plc Indian unit managing director and head of government relations Fauzi Ichsan said that the statistics of the agency is a rare feat considering the limitation of their resources.In an interview with Bloomberg yesterday, he said, projects could halt due to interventions by greedy politicians and other government officials who are asking for bribe money, even though the supposed favors investors pay out don't get done.
"The system is rigged to the extent that the opportunities for corruption are pretty widespread," Ichsan said.
Praja said the KPK will be urging presidential candidates in the middle of this year to include anti-graft and cleaner government goals as part of their platforms to make them more accountable to their promises, especially if one of them gets elected.
"All political parties seem involved. There's always money involved when they make campaigns," Praja told Bloomberg.
