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Former minister Imam Nahrawi files pretrial motion against KPK
Imam argued that his suspect naming was invalid as KPK investigators had not questioned him and, therefore, failed to go through a proper investigation process.
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Former youth and sports minister Imam Nahrawi (JP/Seto Wardhana)
F
ormer youth and sports minister Imam Nahrawi, who is currently a suspect in a bribery case involving the National Sports Committee (KONI), has filed a pretrial motion against the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) charges against him.
The antigraft body’s spokesperson, Febri Diansyah, said the first pretrial hearing would be held in the South Jakarta District Court on Nov. 4. Judges adjourned a session on Monday after KPK representatives failed to show up, claiming they were still examining the motion.
“We will face the suspect in the pretrial hearing because we are sure that the investigation against him is based on strong evidence,” Febri said in a statement on Tuesday.
In the pretrial motion, Imam argued that his suspect naming was invalid as KPK investigators had not questioned him and, therefore, failed to go through a proper investigation process. He also claimed that the charges laid against him were unclear because the bribe he stood accused of accepting was larger than his reported income.
The KPK suspects Imam of accepting Rp 26.5 billion (US$1.8 million) in bribes from KONI and the head of Satlak Prima (Gold Program), a national sporting program for elite athletes that was dissolved in 2018.
Read also: Youth and sports minister steps down over bribery charge
Imam also cited the achievement of Indonesian contingents in several international sports competitions, including the 2018 Asian Games and Asian Para Games. Indonesia finished in fourth position in the 2018 Asian Games, collecting 98 medals in total, and fifth in the Para Games with 135 medals.
“Most of the suspect’s arguments in the pretrial motion have been used by other suspects in a similar motion. Therefore, there are no new argumentations,” Febri said.
He added that the KPK investigation against Imam was ongoing.
The case was first uncovered in December 2018 when KONI allegedly bribed several ministry officials with Rp 3.4 billion to pass state funds to the committee. The KPK previously named five suspects in the case, including former KONI secretary-general Ending Fuad Hamidy, who has since been convicted for bribery.
