REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has lauded the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for arresting a tax official for allegedly receiving bribes from a businessman. "We welcome the move, and this is a clear indication to eradicate illegal levies and corruption," Sri Mulyani said, after the opening of Public Service Entity (BLU) meeting at the State Palace, here on Tuesday.

She reiterated that the president has a strong commitment to eradicate illegal levies and corruption in the country. "This has been conveyed to our staff in the Ministry. We remind them that this was the time for improvement or they would face (legal) action taken by the ministry or other institutions," she stated.

The arrest of an official in the Tax Directorate General was based on the information from the ministry's Inspectorate General. "We give them early information. We have monitoring units in the ministry, and we work in cooperation with KPK to take legal action," she said.

Meanwhile, KPK chief Agus Rahardjo said that details of the case would be explained to the commission's officials later on Tuesday. "We will have a press conference on this. It's a new case, and you can join the press conference later," Agus said.

Earlier on Monday, an official of the ministry and a businessman were caught red-handed by KPK. The commission has also seized billions of rupiah allegedly offered by the businessman as a bribe to lower his tax obligations.

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