Indonesia's former audit chief named graft suspect
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Anti-graft officials said Monday the former chief of Indonesia's state audit agency is a suspect in a multimillion-dollar corruption case.
The head of the Corruption Eradication Commission, Abraham Samad, said Hadi Poernomo allegedly abused his authority, resulting in a $32.7 million loss to the state while serving as director general of taxation between 2002 and 2004.
The announcement came on Poernomo's 67th birthday and his last day as chief of the Supreme Audit Agency. He retired Monday after leading the agency since 2009.
Samad said Poernomo approved measures requested by Bank Central Asia, Indonesia's largest private bank, allowing it to avoid a total of $498 million in taxes.
He said Poernomo will be charged with abusing authority by enriching himself or other parties, and faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Indonesia is plagued by corruption involving senior officials and high-ranking members of political parties.
