Investigators of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested Nurhadi and his son-in-law Rezeky Herbiyono in South Jakarta last week, months after both were named suspects and put on the KPK’s wanted list for allegedly accepting bribes in the form of nine checks and Rp 46 billion (US$3.2 million) in cash pertaining to three cases handled by the country’s highest court between 2011 and 2016.

Bambang alleged that the pair could have been involved in more than three cases, as Nurhadi’s position allowed him to control the flow of justice in the Supreme Court.

"The Supreme Court secretary can be an entry for communication to all justice seekers in the country, we suspect he also had the power and interest to handpick the Supreme Court judge candidates who are chosen through the House of Representatives," Bambang said in a discussion with antigraft group Indonesia Corruption Watch over the weekend, referring to the House's authority to select Supreme Court judges.

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"In some discussions, Nurhadi was mentioned as the dark prince of injustice. Because in the black market of injustice, he allegedly controlled and managed all transactions."

Bambang, who served as the KPK commissioner from 2011 to 2015, further suspected that the bribery cases implicating Nurhadi were only the tip of the iceberg. Therefore, he urged the antigraft agency to dig deeper into more alleged corruption in the Supreme Court by developing the case.

"Nurhadi cannot be seen merely by the cases worth Rp 46 billion. If his case was really as complex as I suspect, then I'm worried for his safety because there must be a lot of people who can't sleep at night," Bambang said.

"If Nurhadi 'sings', then it will strike all notes in the chord of this republic,” he added.

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Bambang also urged the newly elected Supreme Court chief Syariffudin to use the momentum of the case to cleanse the court of corruption.

Antigraft activists have noted that Nurhadi's wealth, amounting to more than Rp 33 billion in assets ranging from land plots to luxury cars, is unusually high for someone with his income.

The highest salary for a Supreme Court employee is around Rp 32.6 million as of 2019, with an additional Rp 32.8 million monthly benefits as of 2014. Activists suggested the KPK open a money laundering investigation against him in relation to the bribery case.

There have also been mounting calls for the KPK to investigate the alleged obstruction of justice in Nurhadi cases, as activists slammed the antigraft agency for failing to track him down for months despite public reports suggesting that he was located in South Jakarta.