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Jokowi in-law plays key role in bribery case
An indictment in relation to a bribery case implicating a businessman and a tax official has revealed the major role the brotherin -law of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo allegedly played in pulling off the plot.
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The Corruption Eradication Commission office investigates a bribery case implicating a businessman and a tax official has revealed the major role the brotherin-law of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
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n indictment in relation to a bribery case implicating a businessman and a tax official has revealed the major role the brotherin-law of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo allegedly played in pulling off the plot.
In its indictment against Indian citizen Ramapanicker Rajamohanan Nair, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) indicated how Jokowi’s in-law, Arif Budi Sulistyo, allegedly brokered a deal to clear the tax dues of PT EK Prima Exports Indonesia — a local unit of the Abu Dhabi-based retail giant LuLu Group International.
Nair was arrested by the KPK on Nov. 21 after he allegedly attempted to hand over a bribe to mid-ranking tax official Handang Soekarno, who allegedly put Arif in touch with tax office chief Ken Dwijugiasteadi to allegedly clear the path to wipe out the tax dues.
Arif is married to Jokowi’s youngest sister, Titik Relawati, and is the operational director of PT Rakabu Sejahtera — the flagship company of Jokowi’s extended family, including cousins, inlaws and nephews. Arif was also Jokowi’s family spokesman during the 2014 presidential election campaign.
According to the indictment, a copy of which was recently obtained by The Jakarta Post, the case came to light when Nair, the country director of EK Prima, challenged a request on June 30 last year by the foreign investment tax office to settle unpaid taxes worth Rp 59 billion (US$4.40 million) for the proceeds the company received from the export of cashews in 2014 and 2015.
The company filed a tax amnesty application on Sept. 6 to have the tax dues cleared, but it was rejected after the tax office found the company had other unpaid taxes of Rp 51 billion (US$38.2 million) in 2014 and Rp 26 billion in 2015.
The tax office then launched an investigation into the company for its failure to settle the taxes.
On Sept. 22, Nair sought help from his business partner Arif, who later asked Jakarta Special Tax Office head Muhammad Haniv to facilitate a meeting with tax chief Ken through the help of Handang, who is known to be Ken’s confidant.
“I’ve known Arif for some time and I am aware he is the President’s brother-in-law,” Haniv told the Post on Friday.
“From what I know, Arif is Nair’s business partner and he contacted me to put him in touch with the tax chief.”
Arif then allegedly met with Ken and later submitted the required documents needed to resolve the problems to Handang.
(Read also: KPK zooms in on role of Jokowi’s brother-in-law in bribery case)
According to the indictment, Arif told Handang via WhatsApp, “Whatever decision is made by the tax office, I hope it is the best one for Mohan [Nair]. Thanks.” Handang then replied by saying that he would meet with Ken again to speed up the process.
On Oct. 4, Haniv, acting on behalf of Ken, was said to have asked the head of the foreign investment tax office, Jhonny Sirait, to clear the tax problems of EK Prima.
Nair then received confirmation that his tax problems had been cleared, and reportedly promised to give Rp 6 billion to Handang and Haniv for their services.
Handang allegedly went to Nair’s house to collect Rp 2 billion of the pledged fee in Jakarta, where he was arrested along with Nair by KPK investigators on Nov. 21.
Haviv denied he bent rules to clear EK Prima’s tax dues.
“The decision [to wipe out the tax dues] was based on professional judgement without any intervention or promises of money,” said Haniv.
Despite Arif’s major role in the plot, the KPK has yet to name him a suspect. The agency has been criticized for keeping the identity of Arif confidential until an investigator leaked the information to the media on Monday night.
Jokowi said on Thursday that he respected the ongoing investigation by the KPK and pledged he would not intervene.
“Whoever does something wrong should be processed under the law,” Jokowi said.
Jokowi said he had repeatedly instructed all ministers and heads of state agencies to ignore any demands for assistance fielded by the President’s family members.
Trisakti University criminal law expert Abdul Fickar Hajar criticized the KPK for failing to act sternly against Arif.
He feared the case would end with the investigation into Nair and Handang, letting Arif off the hook since Nair’s indictment did not include a clause on collective crime and continuous crime.
The clause would have served as a legal basis for the KPK to continue prosecuting individuals found to have allegedly helped Nair, such as Arif, Ken and Haniv.
Handang acknowledged that he had known Arif for years. “Yes, I’ve known him for a long time,” said the suspect after being questioned at KPK headquarters late on Thursday. (dan)
