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Pressure grows on police to wrap up Firli’s extortion probe
Public pressure is mounting on the Jakarta Police to conclude its graft investigation into former KPK chief Firli Bahuri amid the antigraft body's ongoing leadership selection, following nine months of sluggish progress since he was named as a suspect November 2023.
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Firli Bahuri (center), the suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chair, gestures to reporters on Dec. 21, 2023 while leaving the offices of the KPK supervisory council in Jakarta. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
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nticorruption activists are urging the Jakarta Police to expedite their investigation into Firli Bahuri, amid concerns that the lack of progress in the graft case involving the former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief will cast a long shadow over the ongoing selection of the next KPK leadership.
Former police general Firli was named as a graft suspect in November 2023 for allegedly extorting money from Syahrul Yasin Limpo, a former agriculture minister convicted of bribery for soliciting gratuities during his tenure.
Meanwhile, the Jakarta Police are yet to wrap up their investigation into Firli, let alone detain him, even nine months after his naming as a graft suspect.
Such stagnation prompted pressure from civil groups for the police to arrest the former KPK chair immediately and bring the case to court, citing that his case could set a bad precedent for future antigraft body leaders.
“The detention and swift processing to [a court trial] will be a deterrent effect, so future [KPK] leaders won’t entertain the idea of repeating such crimes,” said Mochamad Praswad Nugraha of antigraft watchdog IM57+ established by former KPK employees, many of whom were sacked shortly after Firli was installed in 2020.
Zaenur Rohman, a researcher at the Gadjah Mada University Center for Anti-Corruption Studies (Pukat UGM), also criticized the Jakarta Police for the prolonged investigation into the ex-KPK chief and called on the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) to push the investigation forward.
He also expressed concern that the police force might not be fully committed to completing the investigation into Firli’s alleged extortion.
