M

embers of the North Sumatra Legislative Council (DPRD) and officials from the North Sumatra administration failed to show up for questioning at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters on Thursday.

The KPK had summoned five members of the council, including Evi Diana, a Golkar Party politician who is also the wife of North Sumatra deputy governor Tengku Erry Nuradi, and three senior officials from the administration, to face questioning as witnesses in a graft case implicating North Sumatra governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho.

Earlier this week, the KPK named Gatot a suspect in a bribery case alleging the involvement of North Sumatra DPRD members during the council terms of 2009 to 2014 and 2014 to 2019.

Gatot, who was earlier named a suspect in a separate graft case, stands accused of bribing the council members. The KPK investigators have also named six councilors suspects in the bribery case.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician is alleged to have distributed billions of rupiah in cash to local councilors in return for their support for his administration'€™s budget accountability report for the 2012 to 2014 period.

Gatot also allegedly paid bribes to gain approval for the province'€™s revised 2013 budget and endorsement for the province'€™s budget plan for 2014 to 2015, as well as to persuade the councilors to drop questioning during an extraordinary session earlier this year.

The KPK previously questioned several former and current North Sumatra councilors, including Saleh Bangun, council speaker for the 2009-2014 term, council deputy speaker Chaidir Ritonga and councilor Ajib Shah.

Interim KPK commissioner Johan Budi said that Gatot had been charged under articles 5 and 13 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption eradication.

The KPK detained Gatot in early August soon after it named him a suspect for allegedly masterminding a scheme to bribe three judges in Medan in exchange for a favorable ruling.

The KPK also detained Gatot'€™s lawyer OC Kaligis, who is a senior NasDem Party politician, after he had allegedly helped Gatot devise the bribery scheme.

The KPK also arrested Medan State Administrative Court (PTUN) head Tripeni Irianto Putra as well as PTUN judges Amir Fauzi and Dermawan Ginting for allegedly accepted bribes from Kaligis'€™ aide, Gerry Baskara, in July.

Meanwhile, Gatot is also under the scrutiny of the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO) for alleged misuse of social aid funds at the North Sumatra administration.

The AGO reopened the social aid case after the KPK pressed ahead with its probe.

The AGO, however, has yet to name Gatot a suspect, as prosecutors are still questioning witnesses in the case. (foy)