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Key witness in e-ID graft case dead: KPK
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Under fire: Golkar Party chairman and House Speaker Setya Novanto (right) and the former chairman of the Democratic Party, Anas Urbaningrum, sit as witnesses during a court proceeding in Jakarta on Thursday over a bribery case involving e-ID procurement. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has confirmed that businessman Johannes Marliem, a key witness in the multi-million e-ID graft case, has died in the United States.
“We have received information that Johannes has died,” KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said on Friday, adding that the antigraft body had yet to receive details regarding the circumstances surrounding his death.
Marliem, who lived in Los Angeles, California, was considered a key witness in the high-profile graft case, which has implicated dozens of senior politicians — including active lawmakers, a Cabinet minister and two governors — and caused Rp 2.3 trillion (US$ 172 million) in state losses.
Speaking to Koran Tempo via FaceTime in July, Marliem claimed to have a recording of the conversations he had with politicians who allegedly orchestrated the e-ID graft case, including House of Representatives speaker and Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto, who has been named a suspect in the case.
Marliem was the director of Biomorf Lone LLC, a US-based company that had been awarded the project to procure the automated finger print identification system (AFIS) for the e-ID program. (kuk/ary)
