Burhanuddin and Hatta Ali Named in Defendant’s Proposal

The names Burhanuddin and Hatta Ali were mentioned in an action plan proposed by prosecutor Pinangki to help graft convict Joko Tjandra evade justice. The possible connection between the two in the case has been denied.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

Prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari stands trial on Wednesday (23/9/2020) at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Central Jakarta. Chief justice I.G. Eko Purwanto presided over the trial of of Pinangki, who has been charged with bribery and money laundering in drafting an action plan for a Supreme Court legal opinion to aid Bank Bali graft convict Joko Soegiarto Tjandra escape justice. The Attorney General’s Office alleged that Pinangki received US$500.000 (Rp 7 billion) in bribes from Joko Soegiarto Tjandra. Earlier, Pinangki Sirna Malasari was named a suspect in a related case for allegedly accepting bribes from Joko Soegiarto Tjandra.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS -- The names Burhanuddin and Hatta Ali, who were high-ranking officials at the Attorney General\'s Office and the Supreme Court, respectively, are mentioned in the action plan proposed by prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari to Joko S Tjandra, a convict in the transfer of claim rights or cessie in the Bank Bali graft case. The action plan to help Joko evade justice was agreed to cost US$10 million.

The points in the action plan that Pinangki allegedly offered to Joko were revealed in the indictment against her which was read out by a team of state prosecutors in turn at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, on Wednesday (23/9/2020). The trial was chaired by chief justice IG Eko Purwanto.

As we know, the attorney general is named Sanitiar Burhanuddin while the chief of the Supreme Court for the 2012-April 2020 period was Hatta Ali. However, their alleged connection to this case has been denied.

Also read: A Good Opportunity

Pinangki, who previously served as head of the monitoring and evaluation sub-division at the Planning Bureau under the Junior Attorney General for Development, was charged under multiple articles, namely Article 5 Point 2 in conjunction with Article 5 Point 1 A of Law No. 31/1999 concerning Corruption Eradication as amended by Law N. 20/2001 and Article 11 of the same Law. Second, Pinangki was charged under Article 3 of Law No. 8/2010 concerning the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering. Third, she was also charged under Article 15 in conjunction with Article 5 Point 1 A of Law No. 31/1999 as amended by Law No. 20/2001 and Article 15 in conjunction with Article 13 of the same Law.

Responding to the charges, Pinangki stated that she understood and would file an exception through her lawyer.

Also read : Waiting for Joko Tjandra Speak Openly

Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo

Court officers escort prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari leave her hearing on Wednesday (23/9/2020) at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Central Jakarta. Pinangki is being tried for bribery and money laundering, with the Attorney General’s Office alleging that she received US$500.000 (Rp 7 billion) in bribes from Bank Bali graft convict Joko Soegiarto Tjandra to aid him in escaping justice.

US$10 million

In the indictment signed by state prosecutor KMSA Roni, it was stated that, in September 2019, Pinangki asked Rahmat to be introduced to graft convict Joko Tjandra, who was a fugitive. Meanwhile, according to the Supreme Court ruling on 11 June 2009, Joko was sentenced to two years in prison.

On 12 November 2019, Pinangki and Rahmat met Joko in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. During the meeting, Pinangki introduced herself as a prosecutor who was able to “take care” or help Joko\'s efforts to evade justice.

On 19 November 2019, Pinangki together with Joko’s lawyer Anita Kolopaking and Rahmat met Joko in Kuala Lumpur. At the meeting, Pinangki asked Joko to return to Indonesia first and be detained by the AGO. Meanwhile, Pinangki will take care of the legal issues.

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"At that time, the defendant [Pinangki] said she would give a proposal consisting of an action plan and costs of processing a Supreme Court legal opinion through the Attorney General\'s Office amounting to US$100 million. However, Joko Tjandra only agreed to [give her] $10 million," said the prosecutor.

The action plan contains 10 actions, the person in charge and the time of execution, namely from 13 February to June 2020. These actions include, among other things, sending a letter of request for a Supreme Court legal opinion from Joko Tjandra’s lawyer to BR or Burhanuddin, the AGO official, to be forwarded to the Supreme Court.

Also read : Totality in Catching Fugitives

Then, it was stated that BR would write to HA or Hatta Ali, namely the Supreme Court official, as a follow-up to the request from [Joko’s] lawyer. According to the plan, HA would reply to BR\'s letter, which would then be followed up with the issuance of instructions by BR to his subordinates to implement the Supreme Court’s legal opinion. The action plan also reveals some initials that are currently still unknown.

However, according to the state prosecutor, none of the points of the action plan were carried out. In fact, Joko had already given $500,000 (Rp 7 billion) as a down payment to Pinangki through Andi Irfan Jaya. Of the $500,000, Pinangki gave $50,000 to Anita. Then, $450,000 was used by Pinangki to buy a car, pay for beauticians in the US, pay rent for two apartments and credit cards.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Joko Tjandra (orange prisoner outfit), a former fugitive who was convicted over transferring debt collection rights of Bank Bali, is led to a detention car upon arrival at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Jakarta, on Thursday (30/7/2020) evening.

Being used

Regarding the names Burhanuddin and Hatta Ali mentioned in the Pinangki indictment, head of the AGO Legal Information Center, Hari Setiyono, stated that there was no urgency and connection whatsoever. This is because the names were only being used and mentioned in the action plan by Pinangki to convince Joko Tjandra.

When contacted, Hatta Ali said his name was used as a "selling point" by Pinangki. Hatta dismissed what was written in the Pinangki indictment. He stated that he had never received a letter of request from Attorney General ST Burhanuddin regarding the issuance of a Supreme Court legal opinion for Joko’s case.

Also read: Police Hands Over Joko Tjandra’s Travel Document Case

"The legal opinion was promised by irresponsible people [Pinangki and her group]. The Supreme Court until now has never issued a legal opinion of a technical nature to cancel or correct a case review [PK] ruling,” said Hatta Ali.

Dean of the School of Law at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Sigit Riyanto, said that Joko was not powerless. Thus, it does not make sense for Joko to quickly trust or hand over the legal issues he was facing to Pinangki. This is because Pinangki, institutionally and personally, does not have the capacity to do that.

The Supreme Court until now has never issued a legal opinion of a technical nature to cancel or correct a case review [PK] ruling

Based on this, the whole series of stories contained in the indictment against Pinangki must be proven by the state prosecutor.

Barita Simanjuntak, chairman of the Indonesia Prosecutors Commission, said that (Pinangki’s) trial process would verify various circulating information. The Prosecutors Commission will look into the trial process in order to see whether there is a correlation between the public reports to the Prosecutors Commission and evidence presented during the trial.

"We hope that the panel of judges will actively explore the material truth to reveal this case in a transparent, objective and accountable manner," said Barita.