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KPK investigation exposes corruption in Supreme Court
Nurhadi and his son-in-law, Rezky Herbiyono, were named suspects for allegedly accepting nine checks and Rp 46 billion (US$3.2 million) in cash as bribes in connection with three Supreme Court cases between 2011 and 2016.
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he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is tracking the wealth and assets of former Supreme Court secretary Nurhadi Abdurrahman as part of its pursuit to untangle rampant graft at the country’s top court.
Nurhadi and his son-in-law, Rezky Herbiyono, were named suspects for allegedly accepting nine checks and Rp 46 billion (US$3.2 million) in cash as bribes in connection with three Supreme Court cases between 2011 and 2016.
KPK commissioner Nawawi Pomolanggo told the Koran Tempo daily that the antigraft agency would continue to investigate Nurhadi's wealth and assets, as well as possible laundering efforts.
“We will continue to [track his wealth] during the investigation,” Nawawi said on Monday.
In 2016, the KPK found Rp 1.7 billion while searching his home. The money is believed to be related to the handling of several cases at the court.
The KPK found difficulties in charging Nurhadi because he had allegedly destroyed a number of documents, and the National Police have yet to allow the KPK to question his four adjutants, who are members of the police.
One of the cases, however, forced him to leave his post as the court secretary. He later went missing and remained at large until his arrest at a hotel in South Jakarta early this month, along with his son-in-law.
According to a wealth report Nurhadi filed in 2012, he possessed Rp 33.4 billion in assets that ranged from land to luxury cars. Antigraft activists expressed their suspicions over his unusually large wealth, suggesting that some of it came from illicit sources.
Nawawi declined to go into detail on the probe into Nurhadi, “considering that this investigation is in the realm of pro justitia, which is strict and confidential”, he said, referring to a mechanism that guarantees legal certainty according to prevailing laws.
Since the arrest of Nurhadi and Rezky, the KPK has summoned several witnesses in the case, including Nurhadi’s wife Tin Zuraida. The KPK summoned Tin, who has also been detained but is not a suspect in the case, for questioning on Monday.
Ali Fikri, the KPK’s acting spokesperson for law enforcement, said that the commission sought to confirm several receipts of money that Tin transferred to Nurhadi and several assets the couple owned.
The investigation was also looking into Tin’s relations with Kardi, a Supreme Court employee who allegedly managed some of Tin’s wealth.
“Among other things, our investigator is looking to [clarify] the ties between [Tin] and Kardi,” Ali said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.
Earlier on June 10, the KPK summoned Kardi and his driver for questioning. On June 15, it questioned businessman Sofyan Rosada and obtained a statement from him that substantiated the connection between Tin and Kardi.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Anticorruption Community coordinator Boyamin Saiman stated that Tin and Kardi had eloped in 2001, alleging that the wedding was held at an Islamic boarding school belonging to Sofyan.
Also on Monday, the KPK questioned Edward Danny Suhendra, an employee of San Diego Hills Memorial Park, regarding the alleged purchase of cemetery plots for Nurhadi and Tin. Investigators also summoned Andy Kurniawan, the general manager of the luxury funeral home and cemetery.
The memorial park and cemetery provides exclusive funeral services, and sells burial plots for Rp 57.1 million to Rp 101.7 million each at the private cemetery it manages in Karawang regency, West Java.
Hiendra Soenjoto, the director of PT Multicon Indrajaya Terminal, who is also a suspect in the case, allegedly purchased the plots for the couple as a bribe when Nurhadi was still on the run.
Antigraft activists have urged the KPK to identify the parties that may have helped hide Nurhadi. It was suspected that Nurhadi had been hiding in a luxury neighborhood the entire time.
The KPK has said that it planned to charge Nurhadi with money laundering.
Legal expert Erwin Natosmal of the Indonesian Public Interest Lawyer Network (Pilnet) said instead of probing the alleged recipients of Nurhadi’s ill-gotten wealth, it would be better for the KPK to track down those who allegedly bribed him, regardless of whether court justices were involved.
“[The graft] is not only about him, but also his inner circle, with [the possibility that] a court mafia is involved,” he told The Jakarta Post.
Erwin said cases involving large companies in the country often involved an internal network at the court to deliver favorable verdicts.
