Senior tax official gets 10 years for bribery

JAKARTA. The Jakarta Corruption Court has sentenced senior tax officer Handang Soekarno to 10 years in prison for accepting bribes related to a tax evasion case involving sourcing firm PT EK Prima Ekspor Indonesia (EKP).

Handang was also ordered to pay Rp 500 million (US$37,540) in fines or receive an additional four months in prison.

"Defendant Handang Soekarno has been convincingly declared guilty in this case," presiding judge Franky Tambuwun told the hearing as quoted by kompas.com, on Monday.

The sentence was lighter than the prosecutor's demand of 15 years' imprisonment and Rp 750 million in fines.

Franky said Handang received US$148,500 in bribes from EKP country director Ramapanicker Rajamohanan Nair as a reward for accelerating the settlement of the tax evasion case.

The money was part of the total Rp 6 billion promised by Nair, who was sentenced to three years in prison in April for his role in the case.

The case has attracted public attention as it has implicated a relative of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, businessman Arif Budi Sulistyo.

Arif testified as a witness in Nair’s trial in April when he acknowledged he was a business partner of Nain but denied he had been involved in the bribery. (yon/bbs)