Indonesia to Sue UK Agency over Airbus Bribery Case
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1 May 2024 11:25 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government planned to sue the United Kingdom’s (UK) anti-graft agency, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), over the 992 million euro it received from Airbus to settle a bribery case over the purchase of Garuda planes in 2017.
“It is very unfortunate that the British government has never communicated with Indonesia about this matter (compensation). Indonesia should have been involved,” said Director General of Legal Administration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Cahyo Rahardian Muzhar, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting in Jimbaran, Bali, on Tuesday, April 30.
Cahyo said that the UK initially investigated a criminal case for alleged bribery in the purchase of Garuda Indonesia aircraft. The case was dropped because compensation was paid to the British government in the form of a fine of 992 million euros.
Although he admitted that Indonesia could not interfere with the legal rules applied in the United Kingdom, he emphasized that Indonesia was the country that suffered losses in this case due to the purchase of an aircraft at an unreasonable price and did not receive the right to compensation.
“That is why we have decided to sue the British SFO in the British courts because we will ask for our rights, Indonesia's rights from losses caused by the overpriced aircraft purchases from Airbus,” Cahyo underlined.
According to him, it is unfair that the British non-governmental organization conducted the investigation against aircraft manufacturer Airbus using information, data, and documents from Indonesia, including the Indonesian court’s decision on the bribery case, which has permanent legal force.
Cahyo added that Indonesia has the opportunity to make the demand as it has consulted with several legal experts in the monarchy country. However, he did not mention the exact time for filing the lawsuit, confirming that it would be done soon.
Prior to planning the lawsuit, the Indonesian government had sent two letters to the British government before the COVID-19 pandemic attack and even summoned the British ambassador to Indonesia in Jakarta. However, these attempts did not produce a satisfactory outcome.
ANTARA
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