TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Islamic Defender Front (FPI) secretary general Novel Chaidir Hasan, also known as Novel Bamukmin, attended a questioning session at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Corps (Breskrim) in Jakarta on Monday, February 13, 2017.
Habiburokhman, Novel's colleague at the Advokat Cinta Tanah Air (ACTA) lawyer association, revealed that Novel was questioned as a witness in relation to an alleged money laundering case. Bareskrim had also probed Bachtiar Nasir, chairman of the National Movement to Safeguard Indonesian Ulema Council's Edict (GNPF MUI) for allegedly misusing funds pooled for a foundation called Yayasan Keadilan Untuk Semua.
Bareskrim claimed that it has obtained a number of evidence, including a report from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK). The funds collected from Muslims across the country were allegedly distributed to Syria.
GNPF MUI lawyer Kapitra Ampera explained that the case was centering on the allegation of a transfer of foundation’s assets to the advisor of supervision.
Earlier, Kapitra said that the case surfaced since the foundation's bank account was used by the GNPF MUI to collect funds for rallies. Kapitra asserted that the money in the account was not state’s money. Therefore, Kapitra argued that Bachtiar should not be suspected of laundering money.
"It's not the state's money. That's people's money. It has nothing to do with the state. If it's graft money, then they can suspect it as money laundering," Kapitra said.
REZKI ALVIONITASARI
