Andi Kosasih, a businessman implicated in a Rp 25 billion (US$2.7 million) graft case involving tax official Gayus Tambunan, turned himself in to the police Friday after being reported missing.
The police said Andi was ashamed of the media reports about his role in helping Gayus escape justice.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said Andi arrived at the national police headquarters alone, adding he was questioned as a witness by an independent team tasked with reviewing the investigation of Gayus' case.
He also said he had invited officials from the National Police commission (Kompolnas), as part of the independent team, to monitor the investigation.
National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri had earlier announced that an independent team, comprising officials from the internal affairs division and detectives from the police detectives division, would probe into the handling of Gayus case, which former chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji said was flawed.
Susno alleged that top officers at the National Police were operating as case brokers while handling the case. He accused officers of tampering in the investigation and sharing state funds allegedly embezzled by Gayus.
Gayus was charged with money laundering and embezzlement after the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center tipped the police that his bank accounts had received a Rp 25 billion deposit.
The police initially suspected deposit was dirty money but later changed their conclusion after Andi claimed that the money was his. It was later revealed by the police that Andi was paid Rp 1 billion to give a false testimony.
His new testimony will be crucial to discover irregularities in Gayus' investigation and also whether Susno's allegation is solid.
Kompolnas member Adnan Pandu Praja, however, doubted the police investigation into alleged brokering practices in Gayus' case was carried out independently.
He said he did not know if Kompolnas had been involved in the investigation team. "No police officials contacted me regarding Andi's questioning," he said.
He added that to this date he had not been informed about the independent team's activity. "I don't have any idea about how the team will work on this case."
Susno was summoned by the internal affairs officers Friday morning. Susno, however, refused to answer interrogators during the questioning session because he considered the process he was undergoing had no legal basis.
Susno argued that the national police regulation used as the legal basis to conduct the questioning could not be applied as it had not been authorized by the Justice and Human Rights Ministry.
Edward said that it had been the third time that Susno refused to be questioned by internal affairs. He said the team would continue questioning even if Susno refused to heed the summons.
