KPK grills Agung Sedayu boss in money-laundering

JAKARTA. Keeping up with its pledge to probe more businesspeople in connection to graft cases, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) grilled on Tuesday the owner and CEO of PT Agung Sedayu Propertindo and Binakarya Propertindo Group, Go Hengky Setiawan, in its investigation into a money-laundering case implicating former Democratic Party politician Muhammad Nazaruddin.

KPK spokesman Priharsa Nugraha declined to give more details about Hengky’s questioning, saying that KPK investigators needed to get information from the property firm boss to complete Nazaruddin’s money-laundering dossier, which the antigraft agency has been working on since 2012.

Priharsa said the KPK also collected testimony from Budianto Halim, who is reportedly the president director of real estate firm PT Satwika Permai Indah.

“They both were questioned as witnesses in the case,” Priharsa told reporters at KPK headquarters on Tuesday.

It remains to be seen whether Nazaruddin, who was convicted earlier in a separate corruption case, also channeled his ill-gotten money to some of Hengky’s firms.

Nazaruddin was alleged to have collected more than Rp 800 billion from rigging state projects.

Nazaruddin’s confidante, Yulianis, the former deputy finance director of PT Permai Group, testified that her boss bought a number of shares in Garuda through five companies operated by the holding company.

Permai Group was owned by Nazaruddin and allegedly used proxy bids to win projects that were subcontracted in exchange for money.

Yulianis said about Rp 300 billion that Permai Group collected from government projects — including the SEA Games project — was used to buy shares in many companies. PT Permai Raya Wisata bought 30 million shares worth Rp 22.7 billion; PT Cakrawala Abadi purchased 50 million shares worth Rp 37.5 billion, PT Exartech Technology Utama 250 million shares worth Rp 124.1 billion, PT Pacific Putra Metropolitan 100 million shares worth Rp 75 billion and PT Darmakusuma 55 million shares worth Rp 41 billion.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said the KPK was slow in handling Nazaruddin’s money-laundering case, claiming that the case had not progressed since the former Democratic Party treasurer was charged with money laundering in 2012.

KPK deputy chairman Zulkarnain defended the antigraft body’s performance in the investigation, saying that investigators were working to build a strong case against Nazaruddin.

“I will gather investigators working on the money laundering case soon to check their progress,” Zulkarnain said, adding that the antigraft body was still collecting more evidence on the involvement of other parties in the case. As of today, Nazaruddin is the only suspect in the case.

“We are still working hard to collect evidence to see if any other parties are involved in the case,” Zulkarnain said.

Also on Monday, KPK investigators questioned Ahmad Arif Purwako, team leader of state-owned Bank Mandiri’s Banking Center, in the case.

Earlier, director of PT Msons Capital Munadi Herlambang, who is also a politician with the Democratic Party, disclosed that Nazaruddin once received special loan facilities from Bank Mandiri.

“Nazaruddin received Rp 40 billion in loans from the bank,” Munadi said. (Haeril Halim)