Pieces of the puzzle : Gathering evidence of fraud Hendi Yogi Prabowo  ;   The director of the Center for Forensic Accounting Studies at the Accounting Program of the Islamic University of Indonesia Yogyakarta; His master’s and doctorate in Forensic Accounting from the University of Wollongong, Australia

JAKARTA POST,  20 Februari 2014

                                                                                                                        

                                                                                         

                                                                                                                       

For the past few weeks, no day has passed without news about the authorities searching alleged corruptors’ houses and offices. Yes, it appears that, despite being one of our New Year’s resolutions, the end of corruption is still far away as new cases emerge seemingly every day. Among the highlights are those of the Banten province ruler’s family. Since the arrest of the Banten governor, Ratu Atut Choisiyah, and her younger brother, Tubagus Chaeri Wardana, for a number of alleged corrupt acts, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has been working around the clock to uncover just exactly how much proceeds the two had earned from their offenses over the years. A number of searches have been conducted at their residences and as a result a number of assets as well as documents have been confiscated. Every fraud investigation is essentially a process of putting together pieces of a “puzzle”. The first challenge in the process is to determine what the puzzle is all about. In other words, investigators need to really understand the issues in question before proceeding to the next steps. In a fraud investigation, connecting puzzle pieces is one thing, but finding the missing pieces in the form of facts and evidence is another. Conducting searches and seizures is a common method for finding useful clues as well as evidence pertaining to the case. In reality, despite being widely used in the world of law enforcement, there is simply no “one size fits all” method to conduct search and seizure activities. Generally, in every fraud investigation, maintaining the natural setting of the investigated parties is crucial. This extends to activities of search and seizure. For one thing, fraud investigators need to ensure that during the course of search and seizure they maintain full control over scene and situation. This is important in order to maintain investigators’ safety as well as to preserve evidence. A common approach is to keep the suspected offenders away from the areas where evidence may exist. This will be easier if the offenders are already in custody. Nevertheless, search and seizure actions can also be undertaken without taking targets into custody. When this is the case, things are going to be tougher for the investigators mainly because of the risk of intervention by the targets. Additionally, extra care is required to ensure that none of the important evidence in the area is overlooked during the course of search and seizure as repeating the procedure will likely be ineffective. This is so since, after investigators leave the scene, any overlooked evidence may be removed or destroyed by the potential offenders or their accomplices. Therefore, when searching for evidence, investigators need to consider all possible areas where evidence could be found. This includes trash bins, shredder bins and dumpsters just to name a few. Gathering evidence through search and seizure activities can be a delicate and meticulous process. Before entering the scene, investigators need to ensure that they are well prepared. This includes carrying the necessary equipment to handle the evidence such as cameras, containers, boxes, labels, etc. They also need to prepare for things such as opposition from the residents as well as possible hostile situations. In terms of team members, they need to be selected on the basis of the required skills. For example, ideally there should be at least one person with digital forensic expertise to handle possible digital evidence stored in potential offenders’ computers. Gathering evidence is certainly not the end of the journey as investigators will have to race against time to analyze their findings and determine the results. Experts believe that when it comes to analyzing fraud evidence, the sooner the better. This is important for example when investigation targets have not been taken into custody and thus may attempt to flee the country to avoid prosecution. Over the years, a number of Indonesian corruption suspects had fled the country. Although many have been arrested or prosecuted, the last one being Anggoro Widjojo, without a doubt their escapes had hindered KPK’s investigations at some point. When an investigation is finally concluded, or in other words, when the puzzle is finally solved, we can only hope that it will create strong deterrence effect for future offenders. Furthermore, with all the resources used in the investigation process, the public will expect that fraud offenders such as corruptors will receive severe punishment for their crimes. This will depend on, among other things, how the outcomes of the investigations are presented before the court and how the court will rule on the cases. ●