he Jakarta Corruption Court has handed down a three-year prison sentence and a Rp 200-million (US$15,082) fine to businessman Ramapanicker Rajamohanan Nair for bribing a tax official to help settle his company's tax problems.
The court said Monday that Nair was guilty of giving Handang Soekarno, a high-ranking tax official, Rp 1.9 billion in November as a down payment for an agreed bribe totaling Rp 6 billion.
"The defendant was found guilty of committing a crime as charged, and the court has not seen any factors that can condone his action," presiding judge Jhon Halasan Butar Butar said, reading from the verdict.
(Read also: KPK zooms in on role of Jokowi’s brother-in-law in bribery case)
Nair said he would think about the court's verdict for several days.
Nair had conveyed his defense last week, saying a notification from the tax office last year that his company had tax dues amounting to Rp 75 billion had left him in total confusion, forcing him to find individuals who could help him settle the issue.
Nair, who is the country director of PT EK Prima Ekspor Indonesia, a local unit of Abu-Dhabu-based retail giant LuLu Group International, contacted his business partner Arif Budi Sulistyo to help him out. The latter then reportedly contacted Handang to figure out ways to help Nair.
Arif is a brother-in-law of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. He was presented in a previous hearing as a witness.
Handang is on trial in a separate hearing.
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