KPK Finds Indications of Bribery for Other Cases

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Supreme Court Justice Sudrajad Dimyati wears a prison vest after undergoing an examination at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Jakarta, on Friday (23/9/2022).

Supreme Court Justice Sudrajad Dimyati has been named a suspect in the alleged bribery case in the arrangement of civil cases at the Supreme Court (MA). This case became an opportunity for evaluation, especially in the MA environment.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday (23/9/2022) detained Supreme Court Justice Sudrajad Dimyati as a suspect in the alleged bribery case in the Supreme Court. The KPK also found indications of bribery involving Sudrajad and a number of parties in the Supreme Court, not only in one case.

The findings of this case need to be followed by a thorough evaluation, especially within the Supreme Court. Moreover, there are allegations that some legal practitioners dare to say that they were able to arrange cases.

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The disclosure of the case involving Sudrajad started with the arrests made by the KPK team in Semarang and Jakarta of eight people on Wednesday. The KPK also seized 205,000 Singapore dollars, equivalent to Rp 2.17 billion ($144.000) and Rp 50 million ($3.300). Early Friday morning, the KPK announced the determination of 10 suspects in the alleged bribery case in the processing of an appeal to the civil case of the Intidana Savings and Loans Cooperative (KSP) in Semarang, Central Java.

Those arrested were Supreme Court Justice Sudrajad Dimyati, judicial judge/clerk substitute for MA Elly Tri Pangestu and four civil servants at the Supreme Court Registrar, namely Desy Yustria, Muhajir Habibie, Nurmanto Akmal and Ibasri, two lawyers, Yosep Parera and Eko Suparno, as well as the litigants, namely KSP Intidana debtors, Ivan Dwi Kusuma and Heryanto Tanaka. As of Friday night, only Ivan and Heryanto had not been arrested.

MARINA EKATARI

Supreme Court Justice Sudrajad Dimyati turned himself in to the KPK, Friday (23/9/2022) to be investigated as a suspect in the handling of bribery cases at the Supreme Court.

According to information obtained by Kompas, on Friday, the KPK also searched a number of rooms in the MA building. The KPK leadership said that investigators knew about the searches.

Deputy Chairman of the KPK Alexander Marwata said from the statements of several witnesses and electronic evidence, it was suspected that Sudrajad was not only related to one case. "It is also suspected that there are other cases involving the same people," he said.

Sudrajad, when contacted on Friday morning before he visited the KPK building, admitted that he knew his status as a suspect from the news in the media. He said he did not know which case it was about.

He was suspected of lobbying to the selection of candidates for Supreme Court justices. He was declared innocent by the Supreme Court after being examined by the team.

Sudrajad was inaugurated as Supreme Justice on Oct. 21, 2014. He participated in the selection of Supreme Court justices twice, namely in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, he did not pass the selection in the House of Representatives (DPR). At that time, he stumbled upon the “toilet lobby” scandal with a member of the DPR. He was suspected of lobbying to the selection of candidates for Supreme Court justices. He was declared innocent by the Supreme Court after being examined by the team.

MA Spokesman Andi Samsan Nganro said he was concerned about the events which lead to naming Sudrajad as a suspect. "The Supreme Court is cooperative and submits the mechanism to the legal process which is under the authority of the KPK," he said.

In Semarang, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said that any corruption cases that occur in any institution must be thoroughly processed.

Agreement

The KPK chairman Firli Bahuri revealed that the alleged bribery case was initiated by a criminal report and a civil lawsuit related to the KSP Intidana activities at the Semarang District Court filed by the cooperative's debtors, namely Heryanto Tanaka and Ivan Dwi Kusuma Sujanto. They were represented by their lawyers, Yosep Parera and Eko Suparno.

In processing the cassation of this case, Yosep and Eko allegedly communicated with several employees at the Supreme Court's clerk office who were considered to be liaisons with the panel of judges who later were able to condition the decision according to the wishes of Yosep and Eko. The employee, Desy Yustria, then invited Muhajir Habibie and Elly Tri Pangestu to join the liaisons for the transfer of money to the panel of judges.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Supreme Court Justice Sudrajad Dimyati has been wearing an orange vest and put in a prisoner's car after undergoing an examination at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Jakarta, on Friday (23/9/2022).

The funds given by Yosep and Eko to the panel of judges through Desy came from Heryanto and Ivan. Desy received Rp 250 million ($16.500), Muhajir Rp 850 million ($56.200), Elly Rp 100 million ($13.200) and Sudrajad Rp 800 million ($53.000), whose receipts were given through Elly.

Yosep apologized to all lawyers in Indonesia. According to Yosep, the Indonesian system spends money in every aspect. He promised to disclose all information related to this case.

Senior advocate Palmer Situmorang said that recently, legal practitioners have taken it easy and proudly explained that they were able to influence law enforcement officials. The more it is reported that they are able to arrange cases, the more clients the advocates will have.

The decline in the morale of advocates is also caused by the fact that there are law enforcers who can be bribed, as well as a weak supervision system.

“Basically, the fraudulent practice of advocates is a claim and is 100 percent in the interests of the clients. Justice seekers are stuck on one goal, namely to win. The decline in the morale of advocates is also caused by the fact that there are law enforcers who can be bribed, as well as a weak supervision system," said Palmer.

The Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the DPR, Pangeran Khaerul Saleh, assessed that the Sudrajad case risks further loss of public trust in the judiciary. "There must be an in-depth, thorough evaluation and major internal changes in the Supreme Court," said Pangeran.

Separately, a lecturer in criminal law at Trisakti University in Jakarta, Azmi Syahputra, saw this incident as an indication that the Supreme Court has not succeeded in properly training judges and judicial officers.

According to the representative of the Amicus Advocacy Team, Johan Imanuel, the disclosure of the alleged bribery case in the Supreme Court is a good opportunity for reforming the justice system. This is because, so far, legal efforts for appeal, cassation and judicial review in Indonesia have been conducted in closed courts. According to Johan, the good steps can be reviewed so that can become an open trial. (PDS/DEA/ANA/BOW/NIA/INA)

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.