KEY OFFICE SEEKS TO RESTORE CREDIBILITY AS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001098 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INL FOR SNYDER/BARCLAY DEPT FOR EEB/IFD/OMA DOJ/OPDAT FOR LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE/JOHNSON SINGAPORE FOR BAKER NSC FOR EPHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2018 TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCOR ID SUBJECT: KEY OFFICE SEEKS TO RESTORE CREDIBILITY AS CORRUPTION FIGHTER REF: A. JAKARTA 595 ¶B. JAKARTA 460 ¶C. JAKARTA 433 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak,reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Attorney General Hendarman Supandji is attempting to restore his office's credibility as a key prosecutor goes on trial for alleged bribery. A new Deputy AG is making substantial changes in how corruption cases are handled and the AG has recently replaced 40 district office heads for failing to prosecute corruption cases. The AGO has also renewed efforts to recover assets stolen by Tommy Suharto, son of the former president. Despite these positive steps, the AGO needs to continue to move forward given the scope of the problem. END SUMMARY. NEW DEPUTY PROMISING RESULTS ¶2. (C) AG Supandji is making vigorous efforts to restore the credibility of the embattled AG Office (AGO). Leading the charge is newly-installed Deputy AG for Special Crimes Marwan Effendy. Effendy was appointed to the position in March after his predecessor, Kemas Yahya Rahman, was removed in the wake of a bribery scandal involving an AGO prosecutor (ref A). Former head of the AGO Training Center, Effendy is a career prosecutor with a clean reputation and lots of energy. Effendy was President Yudhoyono's personal choice for the position, according to an Embassy contact. ¶3. (SBU) At a June 2 meeting, Effendy outlined his plans to Charge. Effendy expressed enthusiastic support for Post's offer to fund a new Anti-Corruption Task Force. (Note: US Attorney General Michael Mukasey is expected to sign an agreement establishing the new INL-funded body when he visits Jakarta on June 9. DOJ/OPDAT will oversee implementation of the agreement.) Effendy told Charge that he intends to staff the Task Force with more experienced prosecutors and will set high performance standards. He said he is also seeking ways to provide special incentives to Task Force members. Effendy has already begun the selection process and he earlier invited Mission's DOJ/OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to observe the interviewing of potential candidates. ¶4. (SBU) Aside from the new Task Force, Effendy discussed the need to improve prosecutor capacity more broadly. He said that some prosecutors have prospered in the AGO bureaucracy despite having handled very few cases. He praised the work of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and said he supported its investigation into the alleged bribery of an AGO prosecutor. He noted, however, that the KPK handles only a small fraction (about 5%) of the total corruption caseload, while the AGO remains the primary investigator of corruption in Indonesia. REDUCING DEAD WEIGHT ¶5. (U) AG Supandji has also taken steps to improve the performance of the district prosecutors' offices. In April, AG Supandji announced that 40 district office heads would be replaced for failing to prosecute a sufficient number of corruption cases. AG Supandji has also publicly criticized district offices that have not properly accounted for assets seized from suspects during and after trial. MIXED NEWS ON BIG CASES ¶6. (U) Despite vigorous efforts, the AGO