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ormer tax officer Gayus Tambunan was accused of four different crimes by prosecutors in the first hearing of his court case on Wednesday.

The team of prosecutors said Gayus had violated the law on corruption and the Criminal Code, by helping a company evade taxes, and for then bribing officials handling investigations against him. If found guilty, Gayus could be sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Reading the indictment during the hearing at South Jakarta District Court, prosecutor Uung Abdul Syakur said Gayus’ first crime was related to an unfair tax assessment that had inflicted state losses while benefitting Gayus personally.

Uung said Gayus had accepted PT Surya Alam Tunggal’s tax objection request and caused the tax directorate general to pay the company Rp 570.9 million.

“Gayus assessed the objection request recklessly,” prosecutor Uung told the court.

Besides allegedly accumulating personal wealth while inflicting losses to the state, Uung said Ga-
yus had bribed police and legal officials involved in an investigation into his suspicious financial transactions reported by the Financial Transactions Report Analysis Center (PPATK), and the legal case that followed.

Gayus, according to prosecutors, paid US$6,000 to Comr. Muhammad Arafat Enanie, one of the police detectives investigating his case, through his lawyer, Haposan Hutagalung, in August and September last year.

He also allegedly paid $4,000 to Adj. Sr. Comr. Mardiyani through Arafat, Uung said.

These payments were made in the hope that police would not take him into custody and confiscate his personal bank accounts and private residence in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

Gayus also allegedly bribed Tangerang District Court judge Muhtadi Asnun. The team of prosecutors said Gayus was found to have paid Muhtadi $50,000 for his freedom.

That was Gayus’ third crime, prosecutors said.

One of the pieces of evidence gathered by police during the investigation was a text message sent by Muhtadi. In this text message, Muhtadi had asked for another “10 kilograms of coffee” referring to $10,000, from Gayus. Also mentioned in the message was that the request was made to help grant Muhtadi’s son’s wish for a new car.

The judge is now facing charges for the bribery, at East Jakarta District Court.

Gayus’ fourth crime, prosecutor Uung said, was providing false statements during last year’s investigation. Gayus had allegedly given unclear statements regarding his personal wealth during an investigation of the origins of Rp 28 billion found in Gayus’ personal bank accounts.

Gayus had earlier told police investigators that he had amassed the Rp 28 billion from several tax consultants and private companies, including that of the Bakrie family, one of the country’s wealthiest conglomerates.

A Bakrie Group representative had denied all allegations, saying the companies had never contacted Gayus.

During the first hearing, Gayus commented on the first charges, saying that the decision he had made on PT Surya Alam Tunggal had been approved by his superiors.

“My superior officers should have warned me about this instead of approving my assessment,” he said.

Presiding judge Albertina Ho said she could understand Gayus’ reasoning, adding that the trial would be an ideal place to clarify the matter. “We shall conduct a thorough examination of this particular matter later on,” she said.