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LEAD: Indonesia reveals visa scam at its embassy in Tokyo+
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)JAKARTA, March 20_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH QUOTES FROM FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIAL)
A Japanese staff member at Indonesia's embassy in Tokyo allegedly skimmed nearly $1.2 million from applications made to the embassy's visa section in Japan, an Indonesian Foreign Ministry official said Monday.
Diene S. Muhario, the ministry's inspector general, told Kyodo News the scheme allegedly involved overcharging each visa applicant by 4,000 yen, cash that allegedly went straight into the Japanese employee's pocket. The employee was identified only by the initials YS.
Diene said the scam, which apparently began in January 2004 and lasted until a foreign ministry investigation last month, was abetted by an erroneous entry in a travel guidebook published by a Japanese travel association that indicated the charge for an Indonesian visa was 4,000 yen higher than the real cost.
"So, people assumed that the overcharge was official, which was actually illegal. And the money went into the person's pocket," Diene said.
Later, when asked if the Japanese staff member will be reported to local police, she said, "Of course, when the time comes...We are still in the process of investigation. There will be surely some sanctions imposed on the suspected staff member."
Diene said the practice of charging illegal fees at the Tokyo mission from January 2004 through February 2006 was worth 11 billion rupiah ($1.19 million), and was mostly related to visa extensions.
According to her, investigation was done after the Foreign Ministry received complaints from Japanese businessmen upon their arrival in Indonesia.
"If it is not settled, it will indirectly affect the bilateral relations (between Indonesia and Japan)," she told reporters after attending a hearing with a commission of the House of Representatives dealing with foreign affairs.
The alleged graft came to light after ministry officials investigated the Tokyo embassy's finances in February and Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission became involved.
Diene said at least one Indonesian official at the Tokyo mission was also accountable for the scheme.
Indonesia now plans to reform its ministry bureaucracy and to change the payment method for visa processing from cash payments to online bank payments.
Indonesia, ranked among the world's most corrupt countries by Transparency International, has intensified its war against corruption since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took office in 2004.
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