Contributor - Asia

Jennifer Meszaros

Indonesia's anti-graft watchdog, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), announced on Tuesday that it called former president-director of PT Mabua Harley-Davidson Djonnie Rahmat as a witness in connection with an ongoing probe into allegations of bribery involving Garuda Indonesia and four aerospace companies—Rolls Royce, Airbus, ATR, and Bombardier Aerospace.

 


According to KPK spokesman Ali Fikri, prosecutors called Rahmat to testify in the case against Hadinoto Soedigno—a former technical maintenance director at Garuda and one of three suspects identified in a lengthy bribery case related to the procurement of aircraft and aircraft engines between 2008 to 2013. KPK alleges that Soedigno took bribes from Airbus and Rolls-Royce to secure aircraft maintenance and procurement contracts through Indonesian businessman Soetikno Soedarjo, who in turn supplied payment to ex-Garuda CEO Emirsyah Satar. The contracts implicated include the Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines and the engine maker’s total care program as well as the acquisition of A330-200s and A330-300s for Garuda and A320-200s for its low-cost subsidiary, Citilink. Indonesia’s anti-graft body further claims ATR and Bombardier Aerospace made illicit payments to Satar over Garuda’s acquisition of ATR 72-600 aircraft and CRJ1000 regional jets.

 


Satar and Soedarjo were both found guilty on bribery charges in December 2019 after KPK learned the former boss had received $3.3 million in illicit payments. According to prosecutors, Soedarjo had received bribes from Rolls Royce, Airbus, and Bombardier to procure aircraft and maintenance projects when Satar served as Garuda's CEO from 2005 to 2014. Authorities have begun investigating whether Soedigno played a role in Garuda’s bribery case.

 


Indonesia’s probe stems from a 2017 corruption investigation involving engineering giant Rolls-Royce. According to Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the engine maker gave $2.25 million and a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit car to an individual in exchange for a Trent engine contract to Garuda.&nbsp; Authorities also found that Rolls-Royce paid millions of dollars of bribes to so-called middlemen to secure maintenance and engine orders in six countries. The UK-based manufacturer agreed to pay penalties totaling more than $812 million to avoid going to trial.

 


Last Friday, the SFO said a business partner of Airbus had paid more than $3.3 million to employees of Garuda and/or Citilink, or their family members. The employees “were key or significant decision makers” concerning the purchase of 55 Airbus aircraft.

 


“The last of the relevant purchase agreements was dated 20 December 2012 and was for 25 A320s,” said the SFO in a court document. “The payments were intended to secure or reward improper favor by those Garuda/Citilink employees in respect of that business.”

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