Adhi Karya Paid Rp 80b to Win Hambalang Tender, Says Former Director

Jakarta Globe, Rizky Amelia & ID/Aris Cahyadi, August 23, 2013

A former director of state-owned construction firm Adhi Karya said on Friday that the company paid Rp 80 billion ($7.4 million) to win the contract for the graft-ridden Hambalang sports center project.

“Rp 80 billion was [spent for the project],” Teuku Bagus Mokhamad Noor told reporters at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters.

He did not elaborate.

Teuku, who was named a suspect in the case in March, was being questioned by the antigraft body as a witness in relation to former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum.

Adhi Karya is alleged to have bribed Anas as well as other legislators to win the tender to build the Rp 2.5 trillion sports center.

Anas was named a suspect for reportedly receiving a Rp 100 billion kickback. He allegedly used the funds to buy the votes of Democratic Party members in his 2010 bid for party chairman.

During a previous interrogation session at the KPK, Teuku said that his company was forced to pay bribes in order to be involved in the project.

“We [Adhi Karya] were manipulated by the project mafia,” he said on July 19 after being questioned by investigators.

He declined, however, to name anyone in this mafia.

Haryo Budi Wibowo, Teuku’s attorney, said that the project mafia his client mentioned had been reported to the KPK.

Teuku previously headed the consortia of the two state-run companies spearheading the project ­— Adhi Karya and Wijaya Karya

The anti-graft agency had only detained Deddy Kusdinar, a mid-ranking Sports and Youth Ministry official. The KPK is yet to arrest high-profile people who have been named suspects, including former Sports and Youth Minister Andi Mallarangeng and Anas.

Anas served on the legislative commission overseeing sports during the budget discussions for the project.

The Hambalang facility in Bogor, designed to become a national multi-sports training center, was initiated by Mallarangeng’s predecessor Adhyaksa Dault, but the budget ballooned from Rp 300 billion to Rp 2.5 trillion under Andi.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) attributed the state losses to irregularities stemming from forged land deeds, manipulation of documents to bypass environmental regulations and a rigged bidding process.

On Friday afternoon, the BPK submitted its audit to KPK chief Abraham Samad. The agency found six irregularities in the project and said that the project caused the state to incur $463.6 billion in losses.