Former Ministry of Defense Official Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

The four defendants in the alleged corruption case in the satellite procurement at Orbit Slot 123 East were both sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI.

KOMPAS/ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA

The defendants Surya Cipta Witoelar, Kusuma Arifin Wiguna, and retired Navy Captain Agus Purwoto (from left to right) listened to the reading of the verdict at the Corruption Crimes Court in Jakarta on Monday (17/7/2023).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Former Director General of Defense Force Ministry of Defense Rear Admiral TNI (Purn) Agus Purwoto was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Together with three other parties, Agus was found guilty of committing corruption in the satellite procurement project at the 123 degree East Longitude Orbital Slot at the Ministry of Defense in 2015 which cost the state up to IDR 453 billion.

"The judges have sentenced retired TNI Rear Admiral Agus Purwoto to 12 years in prison and a fine of Rp 500 million, with the provision that if the fine is not paid, it will be substituted with a 3-month imprisonment," said the Chief Justice of the Koneksitas Panel, Fahzal Henri, during the trial at the Central Jakarta State Criminal Court on Monday (17/7/2023)."

In the verdict session, Fahzal was accompanied by Rianto Adam Pontoh, Dennie Arsan F, Koerniawaty Syarif, and Sukartono as the member judges.

The verdict of the judge on the connectivity case is lower than the prosecutor's demand in the previous hearing, which was a prison sentence of 18 years and 6 months. Meanwhile, other than the prison sentence and fine, Agus was also sentenced to an additional punishment of having to pay compensation of IDR 153 billion.

KOMPAS/ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA

Defendants Surya Cipta Witoelar, Kusuma Arifin Wiguna, and Laksamana Muda (Ret.) Agus Purwoto (from left to right) attend a trial reading at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday, July 17, 2023.

The sentence translates to: The sentence was given because the judges' panel found Agus guilty of having committed corruption together with the President Commissioner of PT Dini Nusa Kusuma (DNK), Arifin Wiguna, and the CEO of PT DKN Surya Cipta Witoelar in the procurement project of a satellite in Slot Orbit 123 BT within the Ministry of Defense.

Similar to Agus, Arifin, and Surya who were also defendants in the case, they were sentenced to 12 years in prison and a fine of Rp 500 million, with an alternative of 3 months in prison. Another defendant who was tried separately, Senior Advisor of PT DNK Thomas Anthony van der Heyden who holds American citizenship, was also sentenced to 12 years in prison and a fine of Rp 500 million, with an alternative of 3 months in prison.

Also read: US Citizen Charged with Losing Rp. 453 Billion to Indonesia

The judge conveyed that the defendants who did not assist the government program in eradicating corruption as one of the aggravating considerations. The actions of the defendants have resulted in the state suffering losses of up to Rp 453 billion. As for the mitigating considerations, the defendants were deemed to be polite and cooperative during the trial. They are also the backbone of their families.

The actions of the defendants have resulted in the state experiencing losses of up to IDR 453 billion.

Meanwhile, the judge's verdict was not immediately accepted by the defendants or the prosecution. Both the four defendants and the public prosecutor stated that they needed time to think. They have a period of seven days from yesterday's Tuesday to consider whether to accept the decision or file an appeal.

No need

In the previous hearing, the connectivity prosecutor revealed that Arifin, Surya, and Thomas asked Agus to sign a lease contract for a Floater Satellite named Satellite Artemis. The contract was between the Ministry of Defense and Avanti Communication Limited. In fact, the lease was deemed unnecessary.

Agus is also not authorized to sign contracts because he is not a commitment official (PPK) in the procurement project. Not only that, there are a number of unfulfilled elements in the contract. Some of them are related to the absence of a budget in the Ministry of Defense's Budget Execution List (DIPA), there is no general plan for the procurement of goods/services, and without a working framework (term of reference/TOR).

In addition, it was also found that there was no self-estimated price (HPS), there was no process for selecting goods or service providers, and the coverage area for the Artemis Satellite service did not comply with satellite filing in the Orbital Slot 123 degrees East.