Yogyakarta. Chief legal affairs minister Mohammad Mahfud MD said on  Wednesday he had received reports of suspicious transactions worth a total of Rp 300 trillion ($19.4 billion) at the Finance Ministry over the past 15 years.

His remarks came amid public outrage over the suspicious wealth of tax and customs officials who came under the spotlight for flaunting their possessions on social media posts.

"Between 2009 and 2023, there have been more than 160 reports that bring together more than 460 people in that ministry who were involved in transactions worth around Rp 300 trillion," Mahfud said during a visit to the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) in Yogyakarta.

But Mahfud said it needs a triggering situation for the reports to gain attention, such as the scandal involving tax official Rafael Alun Trisambodo.

Rafael's son became a suspect for brutally attacking a teenager and public inquiry into his personal life found that he often flaunted expensive vehicles on social media posts.

Public attention then turned to Rafael, who in a recent filing to the Corruption Eradication Commission claimed to be in possession of Rp 56 billion worth of personal wealth. Amid mounting controversies surrounding his son's conduct and his suspicious wealth, Rafael submitted his resignation to the Finance Ministry late last month.

"Sometimes we receive a response after a scandal broke like the Rafael case. Previously, there was another case involving [tax official] Angin Prayitno but few people knew about it despite [losses] of hundreds of billions of rupiah until the KPK prosecuted him," said Mahfud, who also chairs a government team tasked with combating money laundering.

"We must help [Finance Minister] Sri Mulyani who is handling the case and we can't hide anything from the public," Mahfud added.

The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, or PPATK, confirmed Mahfud's statements and said it has submitted those reports to the Finance Ministry.

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