Gayus gets 7-year prison term in Indonesia's tax corruption case

Gayus gets 7-year prison term in Indonesia's tax corruption case

2011-01-20 09:30:24 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- In one of Indonesia's most media-covered corruption cases, tax officer Gayus Tambunan was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his involvement in bribes that led to his multibillion rupiah wealth, local media reported Wednesday.

Gayus, 31, was found guilty of bribing a judge and law enforcements, as well as misusing his authority in accepting tax complaints, the Jakarta Globe reported. However, the prosecution did not regard Gayus' illegal wealth in the its conclusions, and his 7-year prison term represents less than half of the 20 years that prosecutors were seeking.

The bribing led to Gayus' acquittal of charges last March, in which corruption and money laundering charges were dropped. He had been suspected of receiving millions of dollars in bribe money from companies seeking to ease the tax appeals process. However, in the hands of the Attorney General's Office, the charges were changed to embezzlement, but the Tangerang District Court in Banten cleared him.

Gayus was also found guilty of misusing authority by accepting tax complaints filed by seafood company Surya Alam Tunggal, leading to a tax refund that inflicted on the state a loss of Rp 570 million ($63,270).

Despite critics arguing that the prison term did not include Gayus' suspected crime of gaining his wealth illicitly, the panel of judges explained that the conviction refers only to what was outlined in the indictment and what was proven in court

Furthermore, Gayus' frankness and the fact that he had no prior convictions were influential in the conviction.

In addition to the prison term, Gayus was also fined Rp 300 million ($33,170).

Gayus had been suspected of receiving around 100 billion rupiah ($11.1 million), according to local media reports, and using his illegal wealth to avoid conviction and free himself from prison.

After Gayus' acquittal last March, the case was brought to media attention by former National Police chief of detectives, Commander Geneneral Susno Duadji, which has the whole country informed of how money can bend and even control the Indonesian judiciary system.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-01-20