KPK to appeal Anas sentence

JAKARTA. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) quickly challenged the sentence handed down by the Jakarta Corruption Court to former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, saying it would file an appeal as the sentence was too lenient.

On Wednesday, the court sentenced Anas to seven years in prison, fined him Rp 300 million (US$25,200) and demanded restitution payments of Rp 57.5 billion and $5.2 million after finding him guilty of corruption and money laundering. The sentence was less than half of the 15-year prison term sought by KPK prosecutors. The prosecutors said earlier that Anas had received Rp 94 billion and $5.2 million during his tenure as a member of the House of Representatives from 2009 to 2010.

“For the sake of justice, we will fight against the sentence at the Jakarta High Court. It does not represent justice at all,” KPK deputy chairman Zulkarnain said.

Should he fail to pay the restitution, Anas would have to serve an additional two years imprisonment, fewer than the four years demanded by KPK prosecutors.

“The two year additional sentence is nothing. Corruption culprits prefer to spend an extra two years behind bars rather than pay back such a huge amount of restitution,” Zulkarnain said.

The panel of judges found that Anas had spent most of the ill-gotten money to fund his successful chairmanship campaign bid during the 2010 Democratic Party Congress in Bandung, West Java.

Regarding the money-laundering charges, Anas was found guilty of spending $1.3 million and Rp 700 million — the amount of funds leftover after the conclusion of the party congress — to purchase several plots of land in Jakarta and Yogyakarta which he registered under the name of his father-in-law.

 “He was found guilty of concealing the identities of the ill-gotten gains,” judge Prim Haryadi read from the verdict statement, adding that all the plots of land would be returned to the state. In their dissenting opinions, two of the judges, Slamet Subagyo and Joko Subagyo, stated the KPK did not have the authority to file a lawsuit on money-laundering charges.

The panel of judges rejected the KPK prosecutors’ recommendation to confiscate a 10,000-hectare coal mine in East Kutai, East Kalimantan, claiming they had found no connection to Anas.

While serving in the House, the court found Anas had illegally received a Toyota Harrier worth Rp 670 million; a Rp 735 million Toyota Alphard Vellfire; and had received services from the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) polling agency worth Rp 478 million ahead of the 2010 Democratic Party Congress.

Responding to the verdict, Anas said: “As a defendant, I respect the verdict, but from my point of view the verdict was not crafted based on legal facts that could be explained legally.”

Anas said he would give himself a week to consider an appeal.

Since the initial stages of the KPK investigation in early 2012, Anas has always claimed to be “100 percent innocent”.

He attempted to express his frustration with the trial in religious terms, challenging the panel of judges and KPK prosecutors to take an oath, called the “Mubahalah”.

“Because the court could not provide me justice, I wanted to seek justice directly from God by challenging the judges and the prosecutors to take the oath,” Anas said, adding that if the verdict reflected the truth then God would curse him, but if it was the other way around then God would curse the judges and the prosecutors.

The panel of judges ignored his request.

KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto appreciated the panel of judges for ignoring the “nonsensical” request.

“The judges are smart in looking at the fact that Anas tried to politicize the court for personal gain. He employed religious symbolism to get public sympathy because he could not prove his ‘100 percent innocent’ alibi,” he said.

The panel of judges, presided over by judge Haswandi, however, did not approve the KPK prosecutors’ request to revoke Anas’ political rights to run for office in the future.

Haswandi has garnered a reputation for handing down lenient sentences to graft defendants. He sentenced former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng to four years imprisonment, six fewer than the 10 years demanded by KPK prosecutors. He also sentenced Teuku Bagus Mokhammad Noor, former head of PT Adhi Karya, the company that received the Hambalang project, to four-and-a-half years, less than the seven years sought. (Haeril Halim)