Jakarta.
Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) pledged on Friday to help
Australian authorities investigate an alleged international corruption scandal
implicating two subsidiaries of the Australian central bank and authorities in
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
The
commitment from the KPK comes after Wikileaks on Tuesday revealed the Supreme
Court of Victoria had issued an injunction on June 19 that prevented Australian
media from reporting on corruption allegations related to Note Printing
Australia (NPA) and Securency International, two subsidiaries of the Reserve
Bank of Australia.
The gag
order followed the secret June 19 indictment of seven senior executives from
NPA and Securency concerning allegations of multi-million dollar bribes made in
order to secure contracts for the supply of Australian-style polymer bank notes
in several countries, including Indonesia.
President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and Laksamana
Sukardi, the State Enterprise Minister in Megawati’s administration, were
listed in the court order, which also mentioned the current and former heads of
states of Malaysia and Vietnam.
“The KPK
must be ready and is now preparing itself if the Australian government supplies
data and preliminary information regarding the corruption allegations,” KPK
deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto told the Jakarta Globe in a text message on
Friday.
Yudhoyono
on Thursday held a press conference demanding Canberra be transparent in order
to clear things up. “The Wikileaks information … has tainted my good image and
that of Ibu Mega,” Yudhoyono told reporters.
“I really
hope and I want the Australian government and authorities to open and reveal as
clearly as possible the legal [case].”
The
Australian embassy in Indonesia issued a statement on Thursday saying that even
though Yudhoyono and Megawati were named in the court order it did not “imply
wrongdoing on their part.”
Yudhoyono
said on Thursday that Australian authorities should work with the KPK to
investigate the matter, but the corruption watchdog must further study the case
before making any official statements or taking action.
KPK
spokesman Johan Budi said that the anti-graft czar had never conducted a joint
investigation with another country and, if it took place, it would be a first.
“So far
there has not been a [joint] investigation like that,” Johan said on Friday.
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