21.03.2012
A coalition of civil society groups has reported Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro to the Corruption Eradication Commission for his role in an alleged scandal surrounding the purchase of six Russian-made Sukhoi jets.
The Civil Society Coalition for Defense Reform claimed that markups in the purchase of the jet fighters had caused at least $50 million in state losses.
“We have submitted evidence proving irregularities in the purchase of six Sukhoi,” Adnan Topan Husodo, a coalition representative, said on Tuesday after meeting with the commission known as the KPK in Jakarta.
According to Adnan, the minister had previously announced that the price of one Sukhoi jet was $54.8 million, making the total price of the six new jet fighters $328.8 million.
“However, the government has allocated $470 million to buy six of them,” Adnan said. “There is a difference of $141.2 million. We don’t know how this extra amount can be accounted for.”
In August, JSC Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-run military exporter, issued an official price list for the Sukhoi, setting the price at $70 million for one.
“Even if we use this price, the budget for six Sukhoi is $420 million, so that’s still an excess of $50 million from the amount allocated,” Adnan said.
He also alleged that a broker was used in the sale of the aircraft, something which would have cost the government even more money.
Adnan said that the deal was supposed to be between the two governments and that brokers should not have been involved.
Indonesia would have had to pay between 15 and 20 percent of the total transaction to this third party, he continued.
“Why should a third party or an agent get involved in a deal that was supposed to be a government-to-government transaction?” Adnan said.
Poengki Indarti, the executive director of human rights group Imparsial, identified the alleged intermediary firm as Tritama.
“We lost a lot because we had to pay the broker,” Poengki said.
The coalition also questioned why the government chose to use commercial credit for the purchase rather than a loan offered by the Russian government.
“Russia offered us $1 billion in loans. We used credit from commercial banks, which charge higher interest,” Adnan said.
The government’s purchase of six Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jets aroused suspicion after lawmaker Tubagus Hasanuddin claimed the prices may have been marked up by $50 million. Both the Defense Ministry and the military have denied the charges.
The Russian Embassy in Jakarta also denies any involvement of a third party and says the jets were not overpriced.
The embassy said Indonesia’s Defense Ministry and JSC Rosoboronexport were the only parties that signed off on the contract to purchase the fighter jets.
The Civil Society Coalition for Defense Reform claimed that markups in the purchase of the jet fighters had caused at least $50 million in state losses.
“We have submitted evidence proving irregularities in the purchase of six Sukhoi,” Adnan Topan Husodo, a coalition representative, said on Tuesday after meeting with the commission known as the KPK in Jakarta.
According to Adnan, the minister had previously announced that the price of one Sukhoi jet was $54.8 million, making the total price of the six new jet fighters $328.8 million.
“However, the government has allocated $470 million to buy six of them,” Adnan said. “There is a difference of $141.2 million. We don’t know how this extra amount can be accounted for.”
In August, JSC Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-run military exporter, issued an official price list for the Sukhoi, setting the price at $70 million for one.
“Even if we use this price, the budget for six Sukhoi is $420 million, so that’s still an excess of $50 million from the amount allocated,” Adnan said.
He also alleged that a broker was used in the sale of the aircraft, something which would have cost the government even more money.
Adnan said that the deal was supposed to be between the two governments and that brokers should not have been involved.
Indonesia would have had to pay between 15 and 20 percent of the total transaction to this third party, he continued.
“Why should a third party or an agent get involved in a deal that was supposed to be a government-to-government transaction?” Adnan said.
Poengki Indarti, the executive director of human rights group Imparsial, identified the alleged intermediary firm as Tritama.
“We lost a lot because we had to pay the broker,” Poengki said.
The coalition also questioned why the government chose to use commercial credit for the purchase rather than a loan offered by the Russian government.
“Russia offered us $1 billion in loans. We used credit from commercial banks, which charge higher interest,” Adnan said.
The government’s purchase of six Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jets aroused suspicion after lawmaker Tubagus Hasanuddin claimed the prices may have been marked up by $50 million. Both the Defense Ministry and the military have denied the charges.
The Russian Embassy in Jakarta also denies any involvement of a third party and says the jets were not overpriced.
The embassy said Indonesia’s Defense Ministry and JSC Rosoboronexport were the only parties that signed off on the contract to purchase the fighter jets.
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