Prosecutors claim Imam accepted Rp 11.5 billion (US$840,280) and an additional Rp 8.64 billion from several ministry and KONI officials.

The KPK has also demanded that the bench order Imam to pay a Rp 500 million fine and Rp 19.1 billion in restitution. 

“[We also demand] the judge revoke [Imam’s] right to run for public office for five years after serving his sentence,” prosecutor Ronald Worotikan read the demand during a hearing on Friday.

During his term as sports minister from 2014 to 2019, Imam allegedly accepted bribes to speed up the approval of a grant proposed by KONI for supervising several athletic events in 2018, including the 2018 Asian Games and Asian Para Games.

The bribe was reportedly given through Imam’s personal assistant, Miftahul Ulum, who is standing trial in a separate case. Prosecutors demanded nine years’ imprisonment for Miftahul during a hearing on June 4.

“Among the incriminating factors is that the defendant’s actions have made it harder for Indonesian athletes to develop and achieve more. They are expected to lift the nation’s reputation in sports,” prosecutors said, adding that Imam had been uncooperative and dishonest during the trial.

Imam denied his involvement in the case, telling the bench he would file a defense plea during the next hearing, slated for June 19.

Apart from Imam and Miftahul, the KPK also named five other suspects in the case: former KONI secretary-general Ending Fuad Hamidy, KONI treasurer Johnny E. Awuy and Youth and Sports Ministry officials Mulyana, Adhi Purnomo and Eko Triyanto. The court has convicted them in the case.

Separately, the Attorney General’s Office is opening an investigation into alleged corruption at KONI. Retired badminton gold medalist Taufik Hidayat was also implicated in the case, in which he admitted to playing a role as an intermediary by delivering the illicit funds to Miftahul in 2018. He further claimed that corrupt practices were prevalent in the ministry.

In a separate case, KPK has detained former PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) president director Budi Santoso and former commerce director Irzal Rinaldi Zailani, naming both of them suspects in a graft case involving apparently fictitious projects at the state-owned aircraft manufacturer between 2007 and 2017.

KPK chairman Firli Bahuri said on Friday that Budi and Irzal would be detained for the next 20 days for further investigation.

Both were charged under Articles 2 and 3 of the 2001 Corruption Law, which prohibit the abuse of power for personal gain resulting in state losses. Each charge carries a potential 20 years of prison and Rp 1 billion in fines.

Between 2008 and 2011, PT DI entered partnership contracts with trading companies PT Angkasa Mitra Karya, PT Bumiloka Tegar Perkasa, PT Abadi Sentosa Perkasa, PT Niaga Putra Bangsa and PT Selaras Bangun Usaha. 

However, none of the parties ever carried out the work stated in their contracts. PT DI, nevertheless, allegedly paid the companies a total of Rp 205.3 billion and $8.6 million between 2011 and 2018.

The KPK has asserted that these were entirely fictitious projects.

“We will develop the case, and [possibly] connect it with money laundering crimes,” Firli said in a press conference on Friday, adding that the KPK had seized a total of Rp 18.6 billion in cash and property allegedly involved in the case.

Firli predicted that the state had lost about Rp 330 billion in the case, judging by the payments made by PT DI.

He added that such state losses were sufficient to give approximately 1 million families social aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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