Report on my son engineered: KPK deputy

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Bibit Samad Rianto claimed that a recent media report on his involvement in his son’s alleged judicial corruption practice was “engineered”.

“There was an attempt to engineer [my involvement] regarding my son, which was printed in Tempo,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Tempo magazine on Monday ran stories of alleged corrupt judicial practices at the KPK. Some articles mention the alleged involvement of Yudi Prianto, Bibit’s son, in several attempts to “take care” of corruption charges faced by graft suspects including Hariadi Sadono, former director of the East Java branch of state electricity firm PT PLN.

Hariadi is currently on trial for a case that centers on the procurement of the branch’s IT-based customer management system project.

Tempo reported Yudi allegedly asked Hariadi, through the latter’s aide Agung Hendradi Kuswarjanto, to hire his lecturer at Bhayangkara University in Jakarta as a lawyer in return for the handling of the case at the KPK’s Enforcement Division.

Edison van Bullo, the lecturer, was introduced to Agung as Bibit’s man. Yudi said his “legal aid” would cost Rp 1.5 billion (US$163,000), but Edison corrected Yudi, saying that he would only charge Rp 1 billion for Hariadi.

The deal reportedly fell through when Yudi could not guarantee Hariadi’s freedom.

Agung also said that Yudi had asked to borrow Rp 150 million for his father’s medical expenses. “But we never gave him a cent,” he added.

Tempo writes that Yudi did not deny talking about money with Agung, but the conversations were only about him trying to borrow money from the latter.

Yudi was also allegedly involved in judicial corruption in other cases.

It was said that he received Rp 500 million from graft suspect Jimmy Rimba Yogi, mayor of Manado in North Sulawesi, when the latter was investigated for alleged corruption in allocating the regional budget.

Tempo, however, acknowledges that there has been no evidence of Bibit’s involvement in his son’s alleged crimes.

“While Yudi once talked about his father’s health condition to his client, there is not [enough evidence] to conclude that Yudi acted on his father’s request,” it says.

Bibit said that Hariadi’s case had long been handled by the KPK’s Internal Monitoring Division. He also said that he would refer to the law in his son’s case.

Emerson Juntho from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said that the KPK could handle this case by establishing a team to investigate the case in order to verify Bibit’s involvement.

“The team can clarify if Bibit has been used or was [actively] involved,” he added.

He warned that this case could be an attempt to weaken the antigraft body, which is currently in the public spotlight due to its role in investigating alleged corruption in the Bank Century bailout.

“It is possible that this is an attempt to discredit KPK leaders.

“The public is aware that Pak Bibit has been assigned to handle the Century case,” Emerson told the Post.

“There has been no proof of his involvement and this could be a smear campaign against him.”