Krakatau Steel Director Planned to Fund Child's Wedding With Alleged Bribe Money
Jakarta. The national antigraft agency has caught a director of state-owned Krakatau Steel red-handed in Banten on Friday last week while allegedly receiving bribes from contractors in a procurement project.
Wisnu Kuncoro (56), director of production and technology at the steel manufacturer, was arrested after accepting Rp 20 million ($1,400) from a middleman, Alexander Muskitta, in a coffee shop in South Tangerang.
The money is part of bribes allegedly paid by Kenneth Sutardja, president director of Grand Kartech, and Kurniawan Eddy Tjokro, chief operating officer of the Tjokro Group.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named both, along with Wisnu and the middleman, as suspects in the case after an intensive investigation following sting operations in Jakarta and at BSD City in South Tangerang.
Wisnu reportedly planned to use the money to pay for his child's wedding on Sunday. The KPK allowed him to attend the wedding for several hours.
KPK deputy chairman Saut Situmorang said Wisnu had placed an order for a boiler worth Rp 24 billion and a container worth Rp 2.4 billion. Alexander then invited Kenneth and Kurniawan to work on the project with Wisnu's approval.
Alexander, who allegedly acted as Wisnu's representative, agreed on a commitment fee of 10 percent of the total procurement fee from machinery manufacturers Grand Kartech and the Tjokro Group.
Wisnu had requested Rp 50 million from Kenneth and Rp 100 million from Kurniawan.
Kurniawan handed him a Rp 50 million check, while Kenneth, who was arrested on Sunday, gave him $4,000 and Rp 45 million in cash. Alexander then deposited the cash and check into his bank account.
Kurniawan surrendered himself to the KPK on Tuesday morning.
Writing by Christian Lee
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