TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Abraham Samad, former chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission or KPK, said there were many things that could be done to maximize the charges against Rafael Alun Trisambodo. One of them, he said, is the article on money laundering.

Samad said that slapping Rafael Alun with multiple charges would increase the deterrent effect whilst at the same time maximizing state revenues.

"We call this making the corruptors poor. Money laundering charges are more of a deterrent effect as the threat of punishment is high – all of [the corruptors] assets will be confiscated," Samad said when contacted on Monday, March 13.

However, Samad said that the biggest challenge for the KPK now is to first determine the principal crime as being related to corruption. That way, he said, they can proceed to charging Rafael Alun with the money laundering article.

"Before charging someone with money laundering, we must first determine the origin of the crime, be it gambling, drugs, or corruption," he said.

Samad also said that using the money laundering article could be a temporary alternative to using the Asset Confiscation Bill, which is still not ratified. On that topic, Samad said that there is an urgency to pass the bill, as it could maximize the efforts for and results from confiscating corruptors' illegally accrued wealth.

The wealth of Finance Ministry officials has become a public discourse after Rafael Alun's son, Mario Dandy Satriyo, brutally assaulted a 17-year-old boy, the son of a Central Banser administrator.

Internet sleuths then discovered Rafael Alun has assets worth Rp56 billion, an amount considered far too high considering he is only an echelon III official.

The case has also led to a series of suspicions against other Finance Ministry officials who also own assets of unreasonable sizes. They include Yogyakarta's Customs chief Eko Darmanto, Makassar's Customs chief Andhi Pramono, and East Jakarta's Tax Office head Wahono Saputro.

MIRZA BAGASKARA

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