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After PDI-P politician conviction, KPK continues with Alstom case

This way, sir!: Court security staff lead graft suspect Izedrik Emir Moeis (center, wearing a black suit) from his seat after a court session in Jakarta on Monday

Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, April 15, 2014 Published on Apr. 15, 2014 Published on 2014-04-15T09:22:37+07:00

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After PDI-P politician conviction, KPK continues with Alstom case

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span class="caption">This way, sir!: Court security staff lead graft suspect Izedrik Emir Moeis (center, wearing a black suit) from his seat after a court session in Jakarta on Monday. The court sentenced Emir to three years in prison for his role in a coal-fired power plant graft case. Antara/Muhammad Adimaja

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will continue its investigation into a bribery case involving a US unit of France-based infrastructure giant Alstom SA after a court on Monday found an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle'€™s (PDI-P) politician guilty in the case.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said other suspects would be thoroughly investigated, but refused to elaborate.

'€œThe investigation is still ongoing,'€ he said.

The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced top PDI-P politician Izedrik Emir Moeis to three years in prison for accepting US$423,985 in kickbacks from Alstom.

The bribe was in relation to the company securing the construction of a coal-fired power plant worth $268 million in Tarahan, Lampung, during the administration of president Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2004.

'€œThe defendant [is found] guilty of corruption by violating article 11 of the 1999 Corruption Law,'€ presiding judge Matheus Samiadji said, reading the final verdict.

The sentence was lighter than the four years and six months sought by the KPK.

The judges also demanded Emir pay Rp 150 million ($13,115) in fines or have another three months added to his sentence should he fail to do so.

Emir was a member of the House of Representatives'€™ Commission VII overseeing energy during the 1999-2004 period, when the incident took place.

State power company PT PLN opened bidding for the power plant project, which was jointly funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the government, in 2001.

The Alstom-led consortium, which included Japan'€™s Marubeni Corp., was formed to participate in the bidding.

After fulfilling the requirements, then vice president of sales for Alstom USA David Gerald Rothschild, lobbied Emir to help him win the project.

Rothschild pleaded guilty in November 2012 before a US court for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

KPK prosecutors said that Emir openly asked Rothschild about the financial rewards if he helped the consortium secure the project.

Rothschild then contacted Pirooz Muhammad Sarafi, who was then the president of US-based Pacific Resources Inc., to act as a broker.

According to prosecutors, Sarafi had a lot of connections with Indonesian officials, including those in PLN.

Alstom then financed a trip for Emir in 2002, which took in Washington D.C. and Paris, France, providing him with free accommodation and other amenities, including adult entertainment.

PLN awarded the project to the consortium in March 2004.

Sarafi, who handled lobbying for Alstom, succeeded in obtaining 1 percent of the project'€™s contract as a success fee, according to the KPK.

Sarafi wired the money from his company to PT Artha Nusantara Utama, which was owned by Emir'€™s son.

The prosecutors argued that Artha Nusantara had no business dealings with Sarafi'€™s company, concluding that the financial transaction was a smoke screen intended to hide the money trail.

After the trial, Emir said prosecutors had failed to call Sarafi, who he claimed to be a key witness in the case, during the near-five-month trial.

'€œMy legal team and I will study the verdict. We will decide later if we will file an appeal,'€ said Emir.

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