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Aide alleges Kaligis role in bribery
Yagari Bhastara - Legal AideThe career of senior lawyer Otto Cornelis Kaligis looks uncertain after his legal aide confessed to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) his role in an alleged bribery case involving three judges in Medan, North Sumatra
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Yagari Bhastara - Legal Aide
The career of senior lawyer Otto Cornelis Kaligis looks uncertain after his legal aide confessed to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) his role in an alleged bribery case involving three judges in Medan, North Sumatra.
KPK has confirmed that Yagari 'Gerry' Bhastara, Kaligis' subordinate who was arrested along with three judges during a sting operation in Medan State Administrative Court (PTUN Medan) on July 9, will be a justice collaborator in the case.
'It is true that Gerry volunteered to be a [justice collaborator]. His offer is currently being examined by the investigators,' he said.
The KPK arrested and detained Gerry alongside PTUN Medan head Tripeni Irianto Putro and judges Amir Fauzi and Dermawan Ginting during a sting operation earlier this month in Medan after the judges allegedly accepted US$20,000 in bribes from Gerry.
Gerry, a lawyer from Kaligis' law firm, represented Ahmad Fuad Lubis, a former North Sumatra administration official who had challenged an investigation order from the local prosecutor's office.
The prosecutors had tried to probe Fuad in relation to alleged embezzlement of social assistance funds in the administration. Based on government administration laws, only the PTUN has the authority to investigate abuses of power by civil servants. The three judges of PTUN Medan later ruled that the prosecutor's probe was an abuse of power.
Gerry was delivering the money to Tripeni's room when the KPK raided them.
Kaligis was then arrested and detained a few days later after the KPK found strong evidence that he had orchestrated a scheme to bribe the judges.
Gerry's lawyer Haeruddin Masarro said that he had promised to provide honest testimony during the interrogation despite pressure he had received from Kaligis.
'I have already told him that he should be honest about everything, don't speak vaguely [about the case]. This is the responsibility you must shoulder, even if it may make you look guiltier. Make this a lesson,' he said.
Haeruddin, who is also Gerry's uncle, said that during his questioning on Friday, Gerry told investigators that Kaligis had asked his colleague to delete data belonging to the firm as soon as he heard that Gerry had been arrested.
Furthermore, Gerry admitted that last Friday Kaligis had ordered him to sacrifice himself for the good of the law firm.
According to Haeruddin, Gerry said that Kaligis had offered him money if he would take all the blame. However, Gerry refused as he knew that the KPK had sufficient evidence against them. 'Gerry just told [Kaligis] 'how can I sacrifice myself? [The KPK] already have recordings. It is impossible',' he said.
Kaligis has represented many different people throughout his career as a lawyer, from celebrities to bureaucrats. He was on Soeharto's legal team, alongside acting KPK commissioner Indriyanto Seno Adji, when the former president tried to sue Time magazine in 1999 for defamation. He was also the lawyer of former Democrat Party lawmaker M. Nazaruddin in a graft case.
Kaligis was also on the legal team of Indonesian singer Nazriel Ilham, aka 'Ariel Peterpan', who was prosecuted for his role in the production and distribution of a pornographic video.
Before his arrest, the lawyer, who admits to having 10 wives and dozens of children, was head of the NasDem Party's dispute tribunal. He claims that he is still a party member despite having resigned from the position.
One of Kaligis' lawyers, Afrian Bondjol, said that Gerry was completely within his rights to volunteer as a justice collaborator.
'I do not want to speak much on the topic as it is within his rights [to do so],' he told The Jakarta Post.
Afrian also declined to comment on Gerry's alleged confession. Furthermore, he declined to comment on Kaligis' alleged connection with North Sumatra governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho and his wife Evy Susanti, who are suspected to be financial backers of the bribery scheme.
'[The topic of the relationship between] Pak Kaligis and Gerry, Pak Kaligis and Pak Gatot and Pak Kaligis and Evi is all part of the case and right now I do not want to debate the material [in the case],' he said.
