Sofyan was questioned for seven hours at the KPK headquarters in Jakarta on Monday, and eventually left at 5 p.m. without sporting an orange vest usually worn by detainees.

“Detainment is under the authority of investigators. Whether a suspect needs to be detained or not depends on the objective and subjective considerations of the investigators,” KPK spokesperson Yuyuk Andriarti Iskak said on Monday.

She said investigators had questioned Sofyan’s role in the procurement of the Riau-1 power plant project. The antigraft body also questioned six witnesses pertaining to the case on Monday, she added. “He was asked 15 questions. They were basic questions, including about the signing of the Riau-1 power plant project,” Sofyan’s lawyer, Soesilo Aribowo, said at the KPK office.

Sofyan refused to comment further, saying he would respectfully follow the legal process.

The KPK named Sofyan a suspect on April 23 in a graft case pertaining to the development of the US$900 million PLTU Riau-1 power plant project, which has also implicated former social affairs minister Idrus Marham, lawmaker Eni Saragih, businessman Johannes B. Kotjo and coal mining company owner Samin Tan.

Sofyan was accused of receiving a kickback from Johannes, a shareholder of Blackgold Natural Resources Ltd., to ensure the latter’s right to develop the coal-fired steam power plant.

The power plant project is designed to have a capacity of 2 x 300 megawatts and is expected to be completed in 2024. The letter of intent for the project was signed in January 2018.

Following his naming as a suspect, PLN suspended Sofyan from his post on April 25. (ars)

Popular

Analysis: Indonesia’s competitiveness ranking falls amid weakening fundamentals

Japan to export used destroyers to Philippines to deter China

What Indonesia can learn from the Iran–Israel war