Indonesia’s financial intelligence government agency has found suspicious transactions involving trillions of rupiah related to the upcoming legislative elections.
The transactions – one trillion rupiah is about US$64.4 million – implicate thousands of individuals with “various political affiliatesâ€, said the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK).
“We have observed irregularities that signal potential illicit payments,†PPATK head Ivan Yustiavandana told local media.
“We are talking trillions, we are talking very large numbers, we are talking thousands of names, we are talking about all political parties.â€
The discovery occurs ahead of over 204 million Indonesians casting their votes on Feb 14, 2024 in what has been called the world’s biggest single-day elections.
Besides a new president and vice-president, Indonesians will also elect about 20,000 national, provincial and regency level parliamentary members, as well as senators.
In November next year, Indonesians will elect their governors, regents and mayors.
PPATK did not name any candidates involved but said the investigation was into the accounts of people listed as registered legislative candidates.
According to the Jawa Pos news site, suspicions began when the PPATK noticed the special campaign fund accounts (RKDK) of parties, which are used to finance political campaigns, were relatively stagnant, if not flat.
Political parties are required to provide initial campaign fund reports and special campaign fund accounts (RKDK) to Indonesia’s General Elections Commission (KPU) no later than 14 days after they are determined as election participants, according to the commission’s website.
An RKDK account for campaigning parties must be set up before the campaign period, which began on Nov 28, and closes after the counting of votes ends.
While the RKDKs remained relatively stagnant, the financial intelligence agency noticed significant transactions in other accounts of the registered legislative candidates, which reached trillions of rupiah and dramatically increased in the second half of this year.
“This indicates a discrepancy. We wonder, where does the financing come from if the RKDK is not active?” Mr Ivan reportedly said.
President Joko Widodo on Tuesday instructed law enforcement agencies to follow up on the findings of PPATK, according to Tempo.
“Everything must be done according to the existing rules … According to the rules, there will be legal procedures,†he said.
MONEY USUALLY USED TO BUY VOTES, PAY POLITICAL DOWRIES
The discovery has highlighted the “power of money†in Indonesia’s elections, an anti-corruption official told CNA.
According to research by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), success in legislative and regional head elections is 95.5 per cent determined by money, said Mr Amir Arief, the commission’s director of Anti-Corruption Socialisation and Campaign.
“The power of money is very important. For this reason, election participants such as legislative candidates or political parties believe that the more money they have, the greater their chance of winning the election,†he said.
The money is used to buy votes, mobilise campaign machinery or pay political dowries, among other things.
Political dowry, or “boat money”, refers to what a person must pay to a political party to stand as its representative in parliamentary elections. The amount varies between 1 billion rupiah (US$64,406) and 12 billion rupiah, said Mr Amir.
According to the KPK’s prosecution record, some campaign funds have been sourced through corrupt means, he added.
“For example, regional heads who want to run for election (will take from) their regional funds. They also get campaign funds from various vendors and contractors. If elected, the funders will expect rewards … (such as their companies being awarded) a tender for the procurement of goods and services,†he explained.
“There are also those who get their funds from within the government itself, for example from civil servants who give money to politicians. If the politician wins the regional head position, the civil servant hopes to be appointed the head of the department,†said Mr Amir.
While a monitoring mechanism known as the Campaign Fund Information System (Sidakam) already exists to promote transparency among election participants, “the challenge is whether what the politicians report on Sidakam is transparentâ€, he said. “That is what the KPU must ensure.â€
SYSTEM “UNABLE TO ACHIEVE ACCOUNTABILITYâ€
The suspicious transactions expose flaws in the system, experts said. They show legislative candidates have “received, managed and spent money without going through the RKDK, so the RKDK is just a formalityâ€, said Mdm Titi Anggraini, an election law expert from the University of Indonesia.
“The regulation of campaign funds in Indonesia is systemically designed to be unable to achieve accountability and truth in the receipt and expenditure of (the) funds,†she said.
Legislative candidates’ compliance with the reporting of campaign funds they receive and disburse is also “very lowâ€, she said.
Even more transactions may be unaccounted for, suggested an observer. This is because Indonesia’s election law only regulates campaign finances for the official campaign period of 75 days, which runs from Nov 28 to Feb 10 next year.
“We know that both political parties and candidate pairs have carried out campaign activities before that period … So the financial records are not consolidated,†said Mdm Khoirunnisa Nur Agustyati, executive director of the non-profit Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem).
“Income and expenses before the campaign period are difficult to trace because there are no special accounts,†she said.
LECTION OVERSIGHT BODY SHOULD BE “PROACTIVEâ€
The financial intelligence agency PPATK has formally notified both the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Election Oversight Body (Bawaslu) about the irregular transactions, reported news outlet Jakarta Globe.
Bawaslu chairman Rahmat Bagja told reporters on Monday that the odd transaction reports are still being reviewed.
“If there are allegations of violations related to this, we will convey it to related parties, especially the police and prosecutors,†Mr Rahmat was quoted as saying by news site Kumparan.
Mdm Khoirunnisa called for Bawaslu to be proactive in preventing money politics, while Mdm Titi said Bawaslu and law enforcement officials should conduct a follow-up and explore the use of money laundering laws, if any alleged offences cannot be pursued through election laws.
Political parties should ensure their candidates comply with campaign finance and reporting rules, and penalise those who fall out of line, said Mdm Titi.
Meanwhile, presidential candidates and their parties have been asked by the media about allegations of irregular transactions by legislative candidates.
On Sunday, vice-presidential candidate Mahfud MD – the running mate of presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo – said those guilty of receiving illicit money must be arrested so that the accounts in question can be checked, CNN Indonesia reported.
Mr Muhammad Syaugi Alaydrus from the Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar team reportedly said: “So as long as there is evidence and facts, please process the law, there is no problem for us.â€
A representative of the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka campaign said the team has been transparent about its campaign funds.
“We have followed all KPU standards. So we leave this matter entirely to law enforcement officials,” Mr Nusron Wahid reportedly said.
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CNA
