Palm oil businessman gets 3
years for bribing governor
Jakarta
| Tue, February 24, 2015 | 06:57 am
The panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court on
Monday sentenced palm oil businessman Gulat Manurung to three years for bribing
suspended governor Annas Ma'mun for a land-conversion permit in the province.
The sentence is lower than the four-and-half-year
prison term demanded by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors
last week.
The judges also ordered Gulat to pay a fine of Rp 100 million (US$7,700) or to
serve another three months behind bars.
'Our
examination into the evidence found Gulat Medali Emas Manurung
was guilty of corruption,' presiding judge Supriyono said in court on Monday.
The judge said Gulat, who is chairman of the Indonesian Oil Palm Farmers
Association (Apkasindo) Riau chapter, had violated Article 5 of the 1999 Corruption Law on bribery of state officials, which carries a
maximum sentence of five years.
Supriyono said that evidence and witness testimonies during the two month trial
had confirmed that Gulat had paid Annas $166,100 for his service obtaining a
land conversion permit for a total of 1,188 hectares of land in Kuantan
Sengingi regency and 1,214 hectares in Rokan Hilir regency belonging to Gulat
and his friends. This was part of the 1,638,249 hectare forest conversion
proposed by the Riau administration to the Forestry Ministry last year.
KPK prosecutors in their indictment said during a visit to Riau in August,
former forestry minister Zulkifli Hasan, in a speech at the administration
office, encouraged people in Riau to make proposals to change the status of
their land so they could become part of the 1,638,249 ha allowed for conversion
by the ministry.
Prosecutors said that following encouragement by Zulkifli, who currently serves
as the People'€™s
Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker, the Riau administration
conducted studies on which specific areas could be included.
The administration sent a proposal to Zulkifli, who granted his approval. The
prosecutors said that Zulkifli, who is a senior politician in the National
Mandate Party (PAN), approved some of the areas proposed by Annas.
However, prosecutors said Annas later revised the proposal that he had sent to
Zulkifli, adding in the land belonging to Gulat and his colleagues because of
the bribe.
'After
finding out there was a chance of revision, the
defendant, who was close to Annas Mamun, asked the governor's help to include his oil palm plantation
in the revised proposal,' judge Joko Subagyo said.
The judges said that after submitting the revised proposal to Zulkifli's
office, Annas phoned Gulat asking for Rp 2.9 billion in US dollar
bank notes for his service but the businessman could only afford Rp 2 billion.
Riau saw 21,400 hectares of its land converted to oil palm plantations between
2011 and 2012, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
Meanwhile, Annas' trial
started last week at Bandung Corruption Court in West Java. He has been charged
with Articles 11 and 12 of the 1999 Corruption Law on state officials who
accept bribes. The articles carry a maximum punishment of 20 years'€™s
imprisonment.
Annas is the third consecutive Riau governor to be implicated in a graft case.
The previous two governors, Rusli Zainal and Saleh Djasit, have already been
sentenced in two separate graft cases.
Rusli was sentenced to 10 years for his role in the Pelalawan
forestry permit and Riau National Games graft cases, while Saleh got four years
for his involvement in the procurement of fire-fighting vehicles.
================
KPK charges Riau governor in
land conversion case
Rizal Harahap
The
Jakarta Post
JAKARTA/Pekanbaru
| Sat, September 27, 2014 | 10:04 am
Mind your head:: Riau Governor Annas
Maamun (center) goes to enter a prisoner-transportation vehicle after the Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK) named him a bribery suspect in Jakarta on Friday.
The KPK also named palm-oil businessman Gulat Manurung a graft suspect. Both
were arrested on Thursday night as Gulat handed money to Annas, allegedly to
get a land-conversion permit. (JP/Awo ) (center) goes to enter a
prisoner-transportation vehicle after the Corruption Eradication Commission
(KPK) named him a bribery suspect in Jakarta on Friday. The KPK also named
palm-oil businessman Gulat Manurung a graft suspect. Both were arrested on
Thursday night as Gulat handed money to Annas, allegedly to get a
land-conversion permit. (JP/Awo )
Mind your head: Riau Governor Annas Maamun (center) goes to enter a
prisoner-transportation vehicle after the Corruption Eradication Commission
(KPK) named him a bribery suspect in Jakarta on Friday. The KPK also named
palm-oil businessman Gulat Manurung a graft suspect. Both were arrested on
Thursday night as Gulat handed money to Annas, allegedly to get a
land-conversion permit. (JP/Awo )
After hours of questioning, the Corruption Eradication
Commission (KPK) has named Riau Governor Annas Maamun and palm-oil businessman Gulat
Manurung graft suspects.
KPK chairman Abraham Samad said on Friday that after questioning, the
anti-graft agency's
investigators had found preliminary evidence to name both men suspects in a
case related to bribery for the issuance of land-conversion permits.
'Based on the
evidence and statements from witnesses, the KPK leaders agreed to name both men
suspects,' Abraham told reporters in the KPK office in Jakarta.
He added that during the operation, the KPK had also confiscated S$156,000 (US$122,450) and Rp 500 million (US$41,500), which allegedly was to be given
by Gulat, who was also chairman of the Indonesian Oil Palm Farmers Association
(Apkasindo) Riau chapter, to Annas. The money was allegedly given to the
governor so he would issue a land-conversion permit for Gulat'€™s oil palm plantation business.
'We have also seized US$30,000 from the house, but Annas said that it was his
money and it had nothing to do with the crime,' Abraham said, adding that the
KPK would investigate Annas' statement.
Meanwhile, KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjajanto explained that Gulat had a
140-hectare oil palm plantation in Kuantan Singingi regency in Riau, which had
been planted in an industrial forest area (HTI). Gulat then asked for the
governor's help to convert the area into a non-forest area, or area for other use
(APL).
'As well as
for the land-conversion permit, we suspect money was also given to the governor
to facilitate Gulat's future projects in Riau, but we will check that,'€
Bambang said.
On Thursday night, KPK investigators arrested Annas, Gulat and seven other
people, including the governor's wife, driver and adjutant, at Annas house in the CitraGran housing
complex in Cibubur, East Jakarta.
Abraham said that the other seven people caught
during the operation would be released by the KPK as it had not found any
involvement and did not have any criminal charge that could be used against
them.
He added that the KPK would charge Annas under Article 12 or Article 11 of the
1999 Corruption Law, as a state official who accepted bribes, while Gulat would
be charged under Article 5 paragraph 1 or Article 13 of the law for his role as
the person giving the bribe.
Annas is the third consecutive Riau governor implicated in a graft case. The
previous two governors, Rusli Zainal and Saleh Djasit, have already been
sentenced in separate graft cases. Rusli was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for his role in the
Pelalawan forestry permit and Riau National Games graft cases, while Saleh got four years for his involvement in the procurement of fire-fighting
vehicles.
Meanwhile, activists from the University Students Executive Bodies (BEM) across
Riau greeted Annas' arrest with
a rally expressing support for the KPK to thoroughly handle the corrupt practices they considered were rooted in the province.
'What the
governor did reflects the corrupt mentality of Riau administration officials.
Hopefully the KPK will be able to name the Riau governor a suspect soon,' the
rally's coordinator, Yopi, said.
'It's
regrettable that he (Annas) could not be trusted and forgot his campaign
promises. He has only been in office for seven months,' said Yopi, adding that
they would demand his resignation once the KPK named him a suspect. (idb)
======================
KPK slaps middleman with
perjury
Jakarta
| Mon, July 21, 2014 | 09:55 am
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has
charged businessman Muhtar Efendi, a confidant of graft convict and former
Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar, with perjury in its
investigation into alleged bribery plaguing the court.
'Our investigation has found two pieces of strong evidence to name ME [Muhtar
Efendi] a suspect in the case,' KPK spokesman Johan Budi said over the weekend.
Johan said that Muhtar was being accused of violating Articles 21 and 22 of the
2001 Corruption Law on obstruction of investigation and on perjury,
respectively, after the antigraft body found that the businessman had given
false testimony during the trial of Akil, who has been sentenced to life in
prison for accepting Rp 57 billion (US$4.8 million) in bribes from 10 regional
heads.
'All people
testifying at graft trials have to be aware that false testimony could bring
serious legal consequences. The verdict is a strong warning for everyone
testifying under oath at graft trials,' Johan added.
Muhtar is the fourth suspect to be charged with perjury
after the KPK previously pressed the same charges on Palembang Mayor Romi
Herton and his wife Masyitoh, both of whom had been accused of bribing Akil
through Muhtar.
Earlier, the antigraft body had also named an adjutant to graft convict and
former Riau governor Rusli Zainal, Said Faisal, a perjury suspect. Faisal was
named a suspect in February after he was found to have given false testimony
during the trial of Rusli, who in March was sentenced to 14 years in prison for
his role in the Pelalawan forestry permit and Riau National Games (PON) graft
cases.
Later, Faisal was sentenced to seven years in prison for perjury and
corruption.
Muhtar is likely to face corruption charges in addition to the perjury charges
after Akil's indictment
exposes his blatant roles in acting as a middleman delivering bribes to Akil,
who was also found guilty of laundering the bribe money he received from the
regional heads.
According to Akil's indictment, Romi went through Muhtar to
transfer Rp 20 billion to Akil in exchange for annulling the victory of Romi's rival, Samudra, in the Palembang
mayoral election in 2013.
Later, on May 16, 2013, Romi, through his wife Masyitoh, gave another Rp 12
billion and Rp 3 billion in US dollar-denominated cash to Akil,
again through Muhtar.
Another Rp 5 billion was given to Akil after the court ruled to annul the
victory of the winning candidate in the Palembang mayoral election.
In the ruling, Akil, who headed the panel of judges at the court, ordered a
revote.
KPK had questioned Muhtar eight times in its investigation into Akil's case and successfully collected
strong evidence confirming his roles as a middleman, delivering bribes from a
number of regional heads, including Romi.
However, Muhtar had retracted his testimonies in KPK investigation documents,
saying ' everything I
said in the document was false.'€
'Yes, I retracted all of my statements. Especially the ones with regard to the
money from Romi Herton and Budi Antoni Aljufri. I
was under pressure at that time,' Muhtar said during Akil's trial on March 24 at the
Jakarta Corruption Court, referring to Empat Lawang regent candidate Budi.
According to Akil's indictment, incumbent regent candidate Budi and running mate Syahril Hanafiah of Empat Lawang regency in South Sumatra made
cash payments amounting to Rp 10 billion and $500,000 to Akil through Muhtar to
overturn an Empat Lawang Regional General Elections Commission (KPUD) decision
naming Joncik Muhammad and his running mate Ali Halimi the victors in the
election.
Akil's indictment
also revealed that he had financed a number of car showrooms belonging to
Muhtar to conceal the sources of his ill-gotten gains.
The KPK confiscated 25 cars and 31 motorbikes from a number of
car showrooms run by Muhtar in November 2013, as they were allegedly linked to
money laundering activities.
====================
Former Riau governor gets 14
years for graft
Pekanbaru
| Thu, March 13, 2014 | 09:12 am
Rusli Zainal: (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
(JP/Jerry Adiguna)
Rusli Zainal: (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
The Pekanbaru Corruption Court sentenced on Wednesday
former Riau governor Rusli Zainal to 14 years in prison for his role in the
Pelalawan forestry permit and Riau National Games (PON) graft cases.
The panel of judges, presided by Bachtiar Sitompul, also ordered the Golkar
Party deputy chairman to pay Rp 1 billion in fines or serve an additional six
months in prison if he failed to pay the fine.
Rusli was found guilty in both cases, violating articles 2 (1), 18, 55 and 56
(1) of Law No 31/1999 on corruption.
'€œ[The
defendant] has been found guilty of committing corruption that enriched other
people or corporations, causing losses to the state,'€ Sitompul said.
In the forestry permit case, Rusli was charged with abusing his authority in
approving the annual work plans of a number of private companies operating in
Pelalawan regency, Riau.
While in the PON graft case, he was charged with bribing a
group of local legislators via Riau Youth and Sports Agency head Lukman Abbas,
in an attempt to expedite the revision of a bylaw to increase the budget
allocation for the construction of the 2012 PON venues in Riau.
The panel of judges said that a number of Rusli'€™s defense statements were unacceptable, and cited
Rusli'€™s claim that he was blackmailed by former Riau Forestry Agency head
Syuhada Tasman into signing the documents.
According to the judges, Rusli'€™s argument made no sense because he was an experienced government official. Before serving two
consecutive terms as Riau governor, Rusli was regent of Indragiri Hilir for two
consecutive terms.
The judges also said Rusli's testimony, in which he claimed to know nothing about the PON bribes, which were collected from companies operating in the province,
was bogus because witnesses had refuted his claim and his involvement was
confirmed in a recorded conversation.
'The recorded
conversation with Lukman Abbas, heard by the judges, also confirmed that the money was collected on Rusli's instructions,' Sitompul said.
The panel of judges, however, refused to ban Rusli's political rights as
demanded by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors. The
sentence was more lenient than that demanded by the prosecutors, who
asked the court to sentence Rusli to 17 years in prison.
Responding to the sentence, chief of the prosecution team, Riyono, said he
would consider it, while Rusli promptly said he would appeal. ' I feel persecuted. I reject [the sentence] and will appeal,' he said.
Rusli's two wives, Septina Primawati and Syarifah Aida, attended the trial and
broke in tears upon hearing the verdict. If Rusli sees out his sentence, he
will be 71 upon release. Rusli was born in
Indragirii Hilir on Dec. 3, 1957.
A scuffle broke out after the verdict was read. Rusli's bodyguard grabbed a journalist's
camera when he attempted to photograph Syarifah as she cried. The bodyguard was
later taken to Pekanbaru Police headquarters.
==========================
Riau governor investigated for money laundering
Hans Nicholas Jong
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
| Sun, July 7, 2013 | 08:49 am
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is
investigating whether Riau Governor Rusli Zainal has been involved in money
laundering.
KPK commissioner Bambang Widjojanto said that the antigraft body was probing
whether Rusli, who has been named a suspect of bribery and of forestry
license
violations, could also be charged under articles 3, 5 or 6 of the 2010 Money
Laundering Law.
'But we can't
say that he has been involved in money laundering yet. We will check whether
there is any indication of money laundering first,' he announced at KPK headquarters late Friday.
Rusli has been declared a suspect in connection to the National Games (PON) in
Riau and the issuance of forestry permits.
In the PON case, he is alleged to have bribed a group of local councilors
through Riau Sports and Youth Agency head Lukman Abbas in an attempt to
expedite the revision of a bylaw on increasing the construction budget for the
PON venues in Riau. He also allegedly accepted a bribe from a private company
that benefited from the bylaw.
The Golkar Party central board executive is also a suspect in a forest graft
case in Pelalawan regency. Rusli is suspected of abusing his authority to
approve annual work plans of a number of private companies operating in
Pelalawan from 2001 to 2006.
The antigraft body has summoned his wives as an initial probe into possible
money laundering.
Rusli's first
wife, Septina Primawati Rusli, who is currently running for the Riau
Legislative Council, was questioned by the KPK for seven hours, while his
second wife, Syarifah Darmiati Aida, was grilled for eight hours
on Thursday.
The KPK has also confiscated three cars allegedly related to Rusli. The first
two cars, a Honda Freed and a Honda Accord, were registered under Syarifah's name, while the third one, a Honda Jazz, was registered under someone else's name, according to KPK spokesman
Johan Budi.
Bambang said that the antigraft body had traced Rusli's assets, but insisted
there was not enough evidence as yet to charge him with money laundering.
He added that the seizure of the cars was not necessarily
related to money laundering.
====================
After extensive questioning,
KPK detains Riau governor
Jakarta
| Sat, June 15, 2013 | 08:11 am
Going down: Riau Governor Rusli Zainal,
wearing a KPK detainee’s jacket, leaves the commission’s
headquarters
on Friday after being questioned for seven hours about his alleged role in two
separate corruption cases. (Antara/Wahyu Putro) (Antara/Wahyu Putro)
Going down: Riau Governor Rusli Zainal, wearing a KPK detainee's jacket,
leaves the commission's headquarters on Friday after being questioned for seven
hours about his alleged role in two separate corruption cases. (Antara/Wahyu Putro)
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) finally
detained Riau Governor Rusli Zainal on Friday after questioning him for the
third time on his alleged involvement in two separate graft cases.
After being questioned for more than seven hours, Rusli, who is also a member
of the Golkar Party's central
executive board, exited KPK headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta, wearing a
KPK detainee's jacket.
'This is a process that I have to go through,' he told reporters before being
led to a detainee vehicle that took him to the KPK's detention center. ' Please pray
for me so that everything goes well and may end soon.'€
An hour after he was detained, his relatives including his wife, Septina
Primawati Rusli, who is currently contesting a seat on the Riau Legislative Council, visited him at the detention center.
Septina is also a member of Golkar.
KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the antigraft body would detain Rusli for the
next 20 days, adding that the detention was for his roles in both the graft cases.
First is the Pelalawan forestry permit case, in which he is suspected of
abusing his authority in approving annual work plans of a number of private
companies operating in Pelalawan regency, Riau. Two former regents, then
Pelalawan regent Tengku Azmun Jafar and then Siak regent Arwin AS, are
currently serving time in connection with this case.
Rusli has also been named a suspect in the Riau National Games (PON) graft
case, in which he stands accused of bribing a group of local legislators via
Riau Youth and Sports Agency head Lukman Abbas, in an attempt to expedite the
revision of a bylaw to increase the budget allocation for the construction of
the 2012 PON'€™s venues
in Riau.
He has also been charged with accepting a bribe from a private company that benefited from the bylaw.
Seven local legislators have been arrested in connection with the case. KPK
investigators also confiscated Rp 900 million (US$94,000) as evidence of the
bribe.
Johan said that the KPK would combine the two cases in one indictment and that
it would press further in its investigation into the cases.
'€œThe
investigation will continue and we can develop it from facts revealed before
the court,'€ he said. '€œNow, we'€™re focusing on completing Rusli's files so
that we can proceed with his trial.'€
Johan also confirmed that the KPK would validate information revealed by
Lukman, who testified in court, that he gave a $1 million bribe to Golkar
lawmakers to approve the Riau administration'€™s request to the central
government to allocate an additional Rp 250 billion for the PON
project.
Lukman, who was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for his role in the case,
claimed that Golkar legislators Kahar Muzakir and Setya Novanto were also
involved in the case.
Kahar, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission X on sports, reportedly took the bribe
money and passed it on to Setya, Golkar's treasurer and the leader of the
party's faction in the House, who has been accused of initially requesting the
bribe.
In April, the KPK raided both Kahar and Setya's offices as part of its
investigation into Rusli, the only senior Golkar politician to have been
charged in the case.
Following the raids, Johan said that investigators had found strong evidence
implicating Setya and Kahar in the PON graft case.
He added that KPK investigators had analyzed documents seized during the raids.
