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Taskforce to question alleged broker
The presidential Judicial Anti-Corruption Taskforce is scheduled to question former diplomat Syahrial Djohan over his alleged role as a case broker with the National Police
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T
he presidential Judicial Anti-Corruption Taskforce is scheduled to question former diplomat Syahrial Djohan over his alleged role as a case broker with the National Police.
A member of the taskforce, Mas Achmad Santosa, said on Sunday that the questioning would take place today (Monday). The plan came after the National Police Detective Chief Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi confirmed Syahrial’s arrival in the country from Australia.
Mas Achmad said the National Police was also set to question Syahrial at the same time on Monday.
“We have coordinated with the National Police chief and its detective chief [about the questioning session]. And they said they will give us a chance to present our questions too.
“The police plan to investigate [Syahrial] is very strategic, and it is important for the taskforce to play a role in this case to clarify the information that has been circulating and also to clarify Pak Susno’s allegations,” he said.
He was referring to former National Police detective chief Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, who brought Syahrial’s name to the attention of the public last week.
He made allegations about the alleged role of Syahrial as a case broker working with a network of high-ranking police generals.
Lawmakers believe Syahrial was the “Mr. X” repeatedly mentioned by Susno for allegedly brokering the case of low-ranking tax official Gayus Tambunan who evaded conviction after allegedly handling Rp 28 billion (US$3.08 million) of allegedly illegal funds.
Susno spilled the beans at a hearing with the House of Representatives’ Commission III, which oversees law and human rights affairs.
Mas Achmad said the taskforce was determined “to reveal the magnitude of the problem”.
During the planned questioning session, he added, taskforce members would “dig for information on [Syahrial’s] role in the Gayus case”.
“We will also ask him about his role in other cases. And this will not only be about the cases that relate to the National Police but also to other law enforcement institutions,” he told The Jakarta Post.
Syahrial, a retired civil servant at the Foreign Ministry, is believed to have orchestrated case investigations in the police force for years.
A lawmaker from the Golkar Party, Bambang Soesatyo, said after a hearing with Susno last week that Syahrial “had the ability to engineer high-profile cases at all levels; police investigations, prosecutions, and court verdicts”.
He also said that Syahrial’s influence also reached out to high-ranking prosecutors and judges.
Lawmaker Benny Kabur Harman from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party said Syahrial had close ties with former National Police deputy chief Comr. Sr. (ret.) Makbul Padmanegara.
Ito has also confirmed Syahrial’s special ties to Makbul.
