TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Arif Budi Sulistyo, the brother-in-law of President Joko Widodo, was mentioned in the indictment of Ramapanicker Rajamohan Nair, in a bribery case involving Handang Soekarno, sub-directorate chief in charge of law enforcement at the directorate-general of taxes. Arif is suspected of lobbying tax officials to erase the tax obligations and penalties of EK Prima Ekspor Indonesia, the company owned by Rajamohan, who had his first session in court two weeks ago.
So far, only Rajamohan and Handang have been involved in the case. But KPK Deputy Chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif is convinced that Handang, who was indicted for accepting Rp1.99 billion of the Rp6 billion as part of a bribe promised by Rajamohan, did not work alone. "Corruption always involves an associate, a superior or a subordinate," said Laode, last week.
Laode, 51, claims the KPK is impartial, even when the case involves someone close to the presidential palace, as the latest scandal seems to indicate. To his credit, President Jokowi has asked the KPK to proceed with the case. But Laode admits his investigators found the case difficult because Handang refuses to testify. "We need information, some of it from the perpetrator," said Laode, who teaches law at Hasanuddin University in Makassar.
Last week, Laode spoke to Tempo reporters Anton Aprianto, Sapto Yunus, Reza Maulana, Raymundus Rikang, Fransisco Enga Geken and Maya Ayu Puspitasari, in a special interview.
In the bribery case involving Handang Soekarno, is it possible he acted alone?
The Handang case still needs further digging, but it would be difficult for corruption to be carried out alone. Corruption always involves an associate, a group, the giver, the acceptor, associates of the giver and the acceptor, his superiors and his subordinates. This is particularly the case if the person in question is not the decision-maker. And we cannot make an arrest just like that.
Why is the KPK having difficulties catching the others who are involved?
We are hoping to obtain more significant information from this case. One of them would be the perpetrator. But right now, it's quite difficult because Handang is not opening up.
Was Tax Director-General Ken Dwijugiasteadi in anyway involved in this case?
We have asked his testimony last month. But I don't yet know the results of the questioning. (Responding to reporters' questions at the presidential palace on February 22, Ken Dwijugiasteadi said, "Look, there is a legal procedure. If I am mentioned in the indictment, that's fine. So what?" When he was asked whether he had ever met Arif Budi Sulistyo, Ken replied that he meets with many people.)
When did the KPK first become aware of Arif Budi Sulistyo's involvement in this case?
In the middle of the investigation, not before. After that, we summoned the witnesses.
Was it then when investigators figured out Arif was the President's brother-in-law?
We had the profiles of all the witnesses we summoned.
Will the KPK continue to indict him knowing he is related to the President?
We are grateful that the President asked us to go ahead and legally process Arif. He also did not give instructions or anything that could possibly influence the KPK.
The public feels the KPK acted in secret over this case because of Arif's involvement. Do you deny this?
We treated him the same as any other witness. There's no point in doing it quietly, because after his questioning, his name is bound to appear in the indictment files. If we wanted to hide his identity, we would not have questioned him. (*)
Read the full interview in this week’s edition of Tempo English Magazine
