E-KTP: Witness Says He Has Evidence of Setya Novanto Involvement

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Johannes Marliem, a key witness in the electronic ID card (e-KTP) mega-corruptions scandal, said that he has recordings of conversations between individuals who set up the Rp5.9 trillion project. That include a recording of a meeting featuring Setya Novanto, the House of Representatives (DPR) speaker who has recently been named as a suspect in the case.

In a special interview with Tempo via Facetime app, Marliem, who said that he is currently in the United States, stated that he recorded all the meetings that he attended in the deliberations on the project. “Recordings of the meetings for four years,” he said. According to him, the 500 gigabyte recordings may be used to investigate the corruption scandal that caused Rp2.3 trillion in state losses.

Read: Setya Novanto Remains House Speaker despite Graft Allegation

In the indictment against defendants Irman and Sugiharto, Marliem was mentioned as a provider of fingerprint system. The prosecutors said that he met with businessman Andi Agustinus on several occasions. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said that Agustinus was Setya’s accomplice in the planning, budgeting and procurement of the e-KTP project.

Marliem said that he was questioned by the anti-graft agency investigators twice. The first was in Singapore in February and the second one was in the United States this month.

Read: Setya Novanto Named Suspect Former KPK Deputy Warns of Aftermath

Pressed about Marliem’s statement, Setya Novanto said that he never knew or met him.

The KPK declined to confirm the Marliem’s recordings. The agency’s deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif said that the investigators have collected two preliminary evidence against Setya Novanto. “The KPK wouldn’t dare to name a suspect without strong evidence,” he said.

INDRI MAULIDAR | HUSSEIN ABRI YUSUF MUDA | MAYA AYU PUSPITASARI