JAKNEWS.COM---The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) searched on Wednesday the house of former Bank Indonesia (BI) governor Soedradjad Djiwandono, who has been accused of involvement in a graft scandal. The raid was conducted at his residence on Jl. Taman Radio Dalam I in the afternoon while Soedradjad was home. He spent the morning answering investigators' questions at the KPK office. 

During the search that lasted for more than three hours, KPK investigators collected a large container of documents, computer disks and a laptop. 

Soedradjad refused to comment to journalists after the search. 

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said Soedradjad was still a witness in the investigation. 

Also Wednesday, the KPK questioned Chandra Wijaya, a former member of the House of Representatives' Commission IX overseeing financial affairs during the 1999-2004 period, as a witness in the same case. 

The graft scandal centers on the embezzlement of Rp 100 billion (US$10.9 million) from the central bank. 

During an audit in 2006, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) said it discovered the misappropriation of a fund disbursed from BI's Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPPI) between 2003 and 2004. 

The agency reported more than 10 incumbent and former lawmakers allegedly received money from the fund. 

Some Rp 68.5 billion was used to hire lawyers for Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance (BLBI) cases, while the remaining Rp 31.5 billion was allegedly given to several members of Commission IX during the amendment of the BI law. 

The KPK has detained outgoing BI Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah, BI legal affairs director Oey Hoey Tiong and former head of the bank's communication bureau Rusli Simanjuntak as suspects in the case. 

Also arrested were Commission IX member Hamka Yamdhu and former commission member Anthony Zeidra, who is serving as Jambi deputy governor. Both were charged with receiving money from the fund. 

The anti-graft body had also issued a travel ban on active and former BI officials implicated in the case, including Soedrajad, another former BI chief Syahril Sabirin and former deputy governors Aulia Pohan, Taslim Tadjuddin, Bun Bunan Hutapea, Maman H. Soemantri and Iwan R. Prawiranata.
 

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