KPK leaders to face more police questioning today

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto will on Tuesday answer the National Police summons for their second questioning in relation to allegations of abuse of power.

Twenty lawyers have declared their support for the antigraft body and offered their services to assist the deputy chairmen during the questioning.

The police summoned the KPK’s four deputy chairmen on Friday as witnesses in the alleged abuse of power in the travel ban imposed on two individuals, Anggoro Widjojo and Joko Tjandra, and the lifting of the travel ban on Joko.

The KPK is still hunting for Anggoro after naming him a suspect in a corruption case at the Forestry Ministry, while Joko is a witness in a bribery case involving senior prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan.

The KPK prohibited Joko from traveling overseas after businesswoman Artalyta Suryani -- who was proved to have given US$660,000 (Rp 6.6 billion) to Urip as a payoff to stop the investigation of her relative, Sjamsul Nursalim, the latter himself implicated in the Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) graft cases -- made a statement in court indicating Joko’s involvement.