T

he North Sumatra Police denied on Wednesday allegations that they had received bribes from Pakpak Bharat Regent Remigo Yolanda Berutu in return for the police stopping investigations into his wife in a separate graft case.

The statement was made in response to Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Agus Rahardjo, who had accused Remigo of accepting a bribe from a businessman and using it to pay the police to stop investigations into his wife, Made Tirta Kusuma Dewi.

North Sumatra Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Tatan Dirsan Atmaja said his office had once handled Made Tirta’s case but the investigation had been stopped before Remigo’s arrest on Saturday.

“So if Remigo Yolanda said the bribery money he received was used to stop his wife’s case at the North Sumatra police, it’s not true,” Tatan told reporters Wednesday.

He said the investigation into Made Tirta pertained to her alleged involvement in a graft case concerning a 2014 regency budget allocation for the Family Welfare Movement (PKK) activities. However, the investigation was stopped last week, before the KPK arrested Remigo.

The investigation was launched based on a report filed by an NGO in January 2017. The police have questioned witnesses in the case.

It was later found that the case had caused Rp 143.6 million (US$9,833.73) in state losses, and the Pakpak Bharat administration was later ordered to return the money. The administration returned the funds on Sept. 28.

“As the state [money] has been returned, the investigators recommended stopping the investigation,” Tatan said.

The KPK named Remigo a suspect following his arrest on Saturday night for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rp 550 million from a contractor involved in a project with the Pakpak Bharat Public Works Agency.

Six people were arrested on Saturday night and early Sunday, three of which have been named suspects. The other two suspects are the regency administration’s Public Works Agency head David Anderson Kasokeli and the construction businessman, Hendriko Sembiring.

Following the arrest, the KPK also searched eight different locations in Medan and Pakpak Bharat from Monday to Wednesday.

KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah said a number of pieces of evidence had been seized during the search, including project documents, banking transaction documents and electronic devices such as cell phones and CCTV footage.

The KPK also found Rp 55 million in cash in the regent’s office, suspected to have come from one of the regency administration’s agency heads.

“The KPK calls on agency heads who have received money or are told to give money to other parties [as bribes] to be cooperative and return the money to the KPK,” said Febri.

Remigo was arrested not long after he attended an event for volunteers for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s reelection campaign.

Despite being chairman of the Pakpak Bharat branch of the Democratic Party, which officially supports the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno ticket, Remigo is chairman of Galang Kemajuan (GK) Jokowi volunteers, who support the incumbent’s reelection campaign.

The Democratic Party has also allowed its members to support Jokowi, despite the party’s official stance, arguing that the party needs to secure victory in legislative elections next year to be able to enter the House of Representatives.

The Dems said they would start to campaign for Prabowo in March, or a month before the legislative and presidential elections, which will be held on the same day.