T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has announced it would be charging former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar with money laundering, after slapping him with multiple charges for his part in three different graft cases.

KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that, following a meeting, all of the antigraft body'€™s commissioners had agreed to charge Akil with money laundering.

Bambang said that Akil would be charged under Article 3 of Law No. 8/2010 on money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years'€™ imprisonment.

He also said that investigators had collected evidence of Akil'€™s money-laundering activities by tracing the transactions in and out of his bank accounts, which amounted to more than Rp 100 billion (US$9.1 million).

Akil allegedly laundered the Rp 100 billion by sending the money to a company he ran in his hometown of Pontianak in West Kalimantan.

The KPK has also found evidence that Susi Tur Handayani, one of the suspects apprehended by KPK investigators at Akil'€™s official residence, had transferred a large sum of money to Akil'€™s company bank account in Pontianak.

In response to the fresh charges, Akil'€™s lawyer, Adardam Achyar, said that his client claimed he made his money through legitimate channels.

'€œHe had amassed assets long before he became Constitutional Court chief justice [in 2013]. During his tenure in public office, including when he became a lawmaker, he always submitted his financial reports. The last one was in January this year,'€ he told the Post.

Adardam said Akil had also acquired his wealth from his business in breeding exotic Arwana fish as well as running CV Ratu Samagat, which controls oil palm plantations in Kalimantan, during the past three years.

The company, however, was listed in the name of Akil'€™s wife, Ratu Rita, Adardam said, adding that his client had nothing to do with the company.

Sometimes, money from the company was transferred to Akil'€™s private bank accounts, Adardam said.

'€œA little money [from the company] went into his bank accounts. Although it is an insignificant amount, it has been used by the KPK to charge him with money laundering,'€ he said.

As part of the commission'€™s investigation into the money-laundering allegations, the KPK blocked all of Akil'€™s bank accounts.

'€œSome of his assets have also been confiscated, while investigators are continuing to trace more of his assets,'€ Bambang said.

As of Saturday, the KPK had seized three luxury cars: a Mercedes Benz S350, an Audi Quattro 5 and a Toyota Crown Athlete from Akil'€™s private residence in Pancoran, South Jakarta.

KPK investigators have also seized Rp 2 billion worth of securities suspected of originating from money laundering activities, along with Rp 2.7 billion in cash from Akil'€™s house at the Widya Chandra housing complex in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the commission'€™s investigators had discovered that Akil had registered one of his cars, the Mercedes Benz, in the name of his driver, Daryono.

Akil was earlier charged under Article 12(b) of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption, which stipulates that it is a crime for a state official accept gifts in return for services dispensed illegally. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The former MK chief justice has also been charged in relation to two other bribery cases: one concerning a local election dispute in Gunung Mas, Central Kalimantan, and the other in relation to the disputed Lebak election.