TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Donations for Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) came from far and wide. Less than a week after Tempo published our Act of Betrayal cover story, the Financial Transaction Report and Analysis Center (PPATK) revealed that funds from the humanitarian organization had been passed on to terrorist groups in Syria.
This had long been suspected. We reported on these allegations two years ago: ACT sent donations to Syria in the guise of humanitarian aid. The PPATK now confirms that these suspicions were not mistaken. Armed with this evidence, it froze around 60 ACT bank accounts.
The social affairs ministry also suspended ACT’s fundraising permit. Ad interim Social Affairs Minister Muhadjir Effendy ordered his inspectorate-general to audit ACT to find evidence that more than 10 percent of the total donations were used for operational costs. There are indications that the charities that were siphoned off were used as a slush fund to pay for the luxurious lifestyles of ACT executives and their families.
As a follow-up, we carried a cover story on ACT, this time taking a closer look at the background to the problem: why have the allegations of misuses of ACT donations only emerged now? Where were the police, prosecutors, auditors and inspectors? Did they not examine the organization’s financial reports and notice any irregularities?
The funds managed by ACT are colossal, around Rp540 billion per year. According to the regulations, the foundation is allowed to use up to 10 percent of donations to cover operational costs. But we found that the actual figure was more than 30 percent.
ACT used a number of techniques to manipulate financial reports in order to conceal the abuses of charities from the public. To a layperson, the ACT financial reports seemed to be in order, and they always received an “unqualified” audit opinion. Therefore we tried to find which auditors were asked to audit ACT. Did they have links to ACT executives?
Enjoy the magazine
Stefanus Pramono
Managing Editor
COVER STORY
ACT’s Donation Manipulation
The Charity Shop’s Debts
ACT’s retail network went bankrupt. Its money was used for the personal gain of the organization’s executives.
Support from Big Names
ACT enlisted the supports from officials and politicians to gather the donations. Many SOEs donated money.
Opinion
Swift Punishment for ACT
The suspension of ACT’s fundraising permit will not resolve all the problems. Is a Fundraising Law needed?
LAW
Tripped by Premium MotoGP Tickets
KPK Deputy Chair Lili Pintauli Siregar is accused of accepting gratuities from Pertamina. There is an attempt to whitewash the case at the KPK Supervisory Board.
Opinion
Restoring Public Trust in KPK
Lili Pintauli should be punished. The investigation of the case must continue despite her subsequent resignation from the Corruption Eradication Commission.
ECONOMY
Debt Clipped, Garuda Flies Again
Garuda Indonesia is wating for the state capital injection and new investors after escaping a bankruptcy lawsuit. They convert debts to stocks, removing inefficient flight routes, and reducing fleets.
The Flight for Young Passengers
Pelita Air fills the middle class aviation market niche now that it no longer has to act as a lifeboat for Garuda Indonesia. The airline prepares to add new planes and open new routes.
Opinion
Garuda and High-Cost Nationalism
The government is to inject Rp7.5trillion of fresh fund into Garuda Indonesia. This has the risk of turning into a long-term burden.
