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Key figure in Banten political dynasty stands trial for graft
The accused: Businessman Tubagus Chaeri âWawanâ Wardana is escorted out of the Jakarta Corruption Court after attending his indictment hearing on Thursday
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The accused: Businessman Tubagus Chaeri âWawanâ Wardana is escorted out of the Jakarta Corruption Court after attending his indictment hearing on Thursday. Wawan has been accused of bribing then Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar to rule in his favor in a disputed regent election in Lebak, West Java. (Antara/Wahyu Putra) (Antara/Wahyu Putra)
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span class="inline inline-none">The accused: Businessman Tubagus Chaeri 'Wawan' Wardana is escorted out of the Jakarta Corruption Court after attending his indictment hearing on Thursday. Wawan has been accused of bribing then Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar to rule in his favor in a disputed regent election in Lebak, West Java. (Antara/Wahyu Putra)
Tubagus Chaeri 'Wawan' Wardana, the younger brother of Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah who is believed to have controlled major government projects in the province, was indicted Thursday on two counts of bribery.
Known to have a penchant for collecting luxury cars and showering female celebrities with expensive gifts, Wawan was charged with paying former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar Rp 1 billion (US$87 million) in bribes to rule in favor of Amir Hamzah and Kasmin, the regent and deputy regent candidates in the Lebak election.
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors also accused Wawan of paying an additional
Rp 7.5 billion in bribes to Akil to secure the victory of his sister, Atut and her running mate Rano Karno, in the 2012 Banten election.
Wawan arrived at the court at 9 a.m., accompanied by his wife, Airin Rachmi Diany, who is the Mayor of South Tangerang.
The court had to postpone his trial twice as he claimed to have suffered from an ulcer, vertigo and dengue fever over the past two weeks.
In the trial, KPK prosecutors revealed how Wawan and Atut lobbied Akil for the first time on Sept. 22 last year to influence the court's ruling on the Lebak election dispute.
Amir and Kasmin, along with advocate Susi Tur Andayani, allegedly held a meeting with Atut to arrange the bribery scheme. Susi acted as the mediator between Atut and Akil, using text messages as their means of communication. The prosecutors said that Akil asked Atut to prepare Rp 3 billion in return for the favor, even though Amir did not have access to that kind of money.
The uncertainty over whether Amir would be able to provide the Rp 3 billion angered Akil, which led to Atut asking Wawan to help provide her with Rp 1 billion for Akil.
Akil accepted Atut's offer and ruled in favor of Amir and Kasmin in the Constitutional Court session on Oct. 2, last year.
On the same date, the KPK arrested Susi with a bag containing the alleged bribe money at Amir's house in South Jakarta, and arrested Wawan at his house a day after.
The prosecutor also revealed that Wawan, who acted as Atut's campaign manager, bribed Akil with Rp 7.5 billion, in order to rule in her favour in 2011 Banten gubernatorial election dispute. Wawan sent the money through a bank transfer to CV Ratu Samangat, a company owned by Akil's wife, Ratu Rita.
The prosecutors charged Wawan with violating Article 13 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Wawan denied all the charges leveled against him and would present a defense plea in the next trial.
Judge Mateus Samiaji, who lead the panel of judges, said that the next session would be held on March 13 to give more time for Wawan to recover from his illnesses.
Wawan, who has also been charged with money laundering, was involved in another corruption case regarding the procurement of medical equipment for the Banten administration. So far, he has not been indicted for his role in the case, which also implicates Atut.
Atut and her family have been accused of amassing wealth through illegal means to retain their political power in Banten, which suffers from widespread poverty.
The KPK confiscated 17 luxury cars ' including a Ferrari and a Lamborghini ' from Wawan.
It was recently revealed that Wawan also gave luxury cars to several members of the Banten Legislative Council and to female celebrities.
A source at the KPK said that it had traced assets belonging to Wawan totaling more than Rp 50 billion in the form of land and buildings allegedly tied to money laundering. The alleged illicit assets are located in Bali, West Java, Banten and Jakarta. (gda)
