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Ex-KPK officer urges suspect Thomas to name sugar import 'mafia'
In a statement released on Thursday, a former KPK investigator has suggested that a wider network was behind the 2015 sugar import deal approved by then-trade minister Thomas Lembong, who was named as a suspect last month for alleged graft incurring $25.5 million in state losses.
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Thomas Lembong (left), wearing a detainee jacket, is escorted from the Attorney General's Office on Oct. 29, 2024, after he was named a graft suspect for allegedly embezzling Rp 400 billion (US$25.39 million) from a sugar import project during his time as trade minister from 2015 to 2016. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
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former investigator of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has urged graft suspect Thomas Lembong, who served as trade minister in 2015-2016, to assist authorities in uncovering alleged corruption in the country’s sugar trade.
"Tom Lembong must become a justice collaborator," Yudi Purnomo said in a written statement on Thursday, as quoted by Kompas.com, referring to the Harvard-educated politician by his nickname.
Last month, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) named Thomas a suspect in a corruption case related to a sugar importation deal in 2015, when he was trade minister.
Thomas reportedly issued a permit for a private company identified as PT AP to import 105,000 tonnes of raw sugar, which it subsequently processed into white crystal sugar.
Prevailing regulations stipulate that only a state-owned enterprise can import sugar, while an interministerial meeting had determined that Indonesia had a sugar surplus and did not need to import the commodity.
Yudi also said the ongoing investigation into the case spanning a period of nearly nine years suggested the possibility that a wider network of corruption existed in the sector. If so, then Thomas would likely know the key players involved in the decision-making process, he said, including the official who signed the import permits.
He urged Thomas to cooperate with authorities and provide any relevant information to prevent a similar incident, alleging that allowing at least eight private companies to import sugar had incurred state losses of around Rp 400 billion (US$25.5 million).
"By cooperating, Thomas can not only defend his own innocence but also expose those who have exploited the system," Yudi said in his statement.
The ex-KPK investigator also asked the AGO to investigate the sugar import case more thoroughly instead of stopping at naming Thomas as a suspect. He stressed the importance of addressing the entirety of the alleged corruption network to ensure that future sugar imports adhered to established procedures.
The AGO has also named the business director of state trading firm PT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia, identified as CS, as a suspect in the case.
