KPK deputy chairwoman Basaria Panjaitan confirmed the arrests, saying they took place after investigators obtained information about an illicit transaction through an intermediary.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) apprehended a lawmaker and a high-ranking official of state fertilizer holding company PT Pupuk Indonesia during an operation in Jakarta that took place Wednesday night to the early hours of Thursday.
KPK deputy chairwoman Basaria Panjaitan confirmed the arrests, saying they took place after investigators obtained information about an illicit transaction through an intermediary.
“There were several people arrested during the operation, consisting of a member of PT Pupuk Indonesia’s board of directors and businesspeople. We allege the transaction was related to the distribution of fertilizer by ships,” Basaria said in a statement on Thursday.
Separately, KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah added that the antigraft body’s investigators had also arrested a House of Representatives lawmaker in connection to the same case on Thursday. “Graft busters are questioning the apprehended individuals at the KPK building in Jakarta.”
Basaria added that investigators had seized rupiah and US dollars, although she stopped short of revealing the amount.
The antigraft body is expected to announce the legal status of the apprehended individuals on Thursday evening or Friday morning.
The arrests took place four days after the KPK named Wisnu Kuncoro, a director at state-owned steel manufacturer PT Krakatau Steel, and three business executives, suspects in a bribery case related to procurement projects worth a total of Rp 26.4 billion (US$1.8 million).
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