IDNAround – A high-ranking customs official visited the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, in Jakarta on Tuesday to renew his wealth reports after a luxury house allegedly belonging to him was exposed in recent media reports.
Andhi Pramono, the head of the customs office in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar became the third Finance Ministry official to be summoned by the KPK over suspicious wealth in recent weeks.
Andhi admitted that the house in Cibubur was not included in his filing, arguing that it belongs to his parents.
“There are things about me that became viral such as the house, whose pictures were taken by the media, not me. The house belongs to my parents and they have been living there for a quite long time. They don’t pass it down to me yet,” he told reporters after the questioning at the KPK building.
“I often come to the house to visit my parents,” he added.
Andhi also claimed that he has regularly renewed his wealth report to the KPK every year.
His previous filing in February last year mentioned that his personal wealth is worth Rp 13.7 billion ($891,000), comprising mostly lands and buildings.
He owns a house built on 513 square meters of land in Central Jakarta valued at Rp 4.9 billion. Andhi also has houses in Cianjur, Bogor, Salatiga, and Batam, according to his filing.
His assets also include nine cars and four motorcycles that according to his own valuation are worth Rp 1.8 billion.
Anti-money laundering agency the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, or PPATK, previously revealed findings of suspicious transactions in huge amounts by the customs official.
“They include a huge amount of cash deposits from companies, the purchase of luxurious items, and other things,” PPATK Head Ivan Yustiavanadana told Kompas news website last week.
The KPK confirmed it already received PPATK’s transaction analyses on Andhi last year, but there was no explanation why there was no follow-up until the official got exposed in the media.
The public inquiry into tax and customs officials began when taxman Rafael Alun Trisambodo came under the spotlight after his son Mario Dandy assaulted a teenager and became a criminal suspect.
Mario often flaunted luxury cars and motorcycles on his social media posts, leading to further inquiry into the family’s lavish lifestyle.
The PPATK said Rafael was suspected of making suspicious transactions worth Rp 500 billion in recent years.
Then came Eko Darmanto, the head of the Yogyakarta Customs Office who was summoned by the KPK following media reports about him flexing his wealth on social media. The Finance Ministry has since removed Eko from the post.
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