SUSNO REVEALS MORE PLAYERS IN TAX FRAUD

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 8 (ANTARA) - After claiming recently that two brigadier generals were linked to a tax fraud case involving taxman Gayus Tambunan, former police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji once again revealed that there was a "Mr X" who was the mastermind of the case.          Mr X who is not a police officer is able to exert his influence on the replacement of officers in the police force  as he is close to a three-star police general. Susno disclosed this at a hearing with House Commission III which deals with legal affairs on Thursday.          Besides Mr X in the police force, there was another revelation on Thursday where a former director at the directorate general of taxation with the initials "BA" was reported by the Financial Transaction Analysis and Report Center (PPATK) as having a suspicious account amounting to Rp70 billion.          A Jakarta Police spokesman, Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar, only referred to the former tax official as BA, but he is widely reported to be Bahasyim Assifie, a former tax directorate official who last week resigned from the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).          Mr X and BA are two latest alleged players in tax evasion and money laundering following the disclosures of a case involving tax official Gayus Tambunan who is now under police investigation for having suspicious account worth Rp28 billion.          Seven people, including police officers, have been named suspects in the Gayus Case. The Gayus case may soon drag Mr X and a police officer with the initials "MP." In a close-door meeting on Thursday, legislators were told by Susno Duadji that the "Mr X" behind case brokering practices in the police was a man with the initials "SJ", according to Chairman of the House Commission III on legal affairs Benny K Harman said.         "SJ is not a police officer but was close to a three-star police general who is known by his initials as "MP", Benny K Harman said.          Meanwhile, Commission III member Ahmad Yani said SJ played a leading role in a case brokerage network and this was known to  lawyer circle. "This has been public knowledge within defense counsel circles for some time," Yani, a legislator of the United Development Party (PPP) party faction, said.          Another Commission III member, Martin Hutabarat of the Gerindra faction, said SJ was a former diplomat who had a close relationship with a three-star police general. He said because of his closeness to the police general SJ had great influence in the police force and was once able to have a police officer dismissed from the force.          Besides, Susno Duadji also disclosed that there was a police general who had asked for Rp5 billion from Gayus Tambunan. The general claimed that the money would be given to Susno who was at that time the head of the Police Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim).          "I got  this information from my men inside the institution but the funds never reached me," Susno told the House Commission III.          He said that he had earlier heard rumors mentioning himself as one of the recipients of the funds. "The rumors are not true. Until now, I have never received those funds," he added.          Susno said that he got information from insiders based on the explanations of a witness who was investigated that there was a general who had asked for Rp2 billion, more than the agreed Rp1.5 billion.          Besides, the general also asked Rp5 billion which he claimed would be given to Susno but the money was never delivered.          "So the general who asked Rp5 billion for Susno could have received Rp7 billion. This is based on the explanation of a witness," Susno said.          The witness who is also a former deputy head of the PPATK also mentioned that the disbursement of the funds was carried out in the transitional period during the replacement of the head of the Bareskrim on November 26, 2009.          The 28 billion has allegedly been transferred to their recipients. Susno  said it was very easy for the police to trace the flow of funds because the key witnesses in this case had all been arrested.          "It is very easy to disclose the Rp28 billion funds because the key witnesses such as Gayus, Andi Kosasih and Haposan have been arrested," the former head of the Police Criminal Investigation Department said.           Susno said that if there was a will and honesty it would be very easy to trace the flow of the funds  based on the explanations made by Gayus P Tambunan. Andi Kosasih has admitted that the suspicious Rp28 billion funds in Gayus's bank account were actually  not his money as he had earlier admitted.           In a court last month, Kosasih claimed that the money in Gayus account was his. With the claim, Gayus was acquitted from the corruption charges.          "(After the arrest) Andi Kosasih has admitted that the Rp28 billion did not belong to him. He also admitted that he had handed over Rp5 billion (to a police officer) which was said to be given to Susno but I have never receive it," Susno said.      (T.A014/A/H-NG/a014)09-04-2010 00:48: