AGO Rejects Sony Sonjaya's Justice Collaborator Plea but Still Uses His Information

The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) has rejected the ‘Justice Collaborator’ (JC) application submitted by former Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Sony Sonjaya, a suspect in the corruption case concerning the management of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. Despite the rejection of his JC plea, the AGO confirmed it will still use the information Sony provided when applying to become a cooperating perpetrator. Director of Investigation for the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, stated that his office appreciates Sony’s efforts in providing relevant information that helped to clearly expose the MBG corruption case. “All information is highly valued and is used to shed light on this case. However, regarding the Justice Collaborator status, we are bound by existing regulations,” Syarief said during a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday (23/6). Previously, Sony, through his legal counsel, applied to become a JC with the AGO. To facilitate his application, Sony reportedly named 41 figures linked to the corruption case within the BGN related to the MBG programme and its procurement. One of the issues disclosed was the alleged procurement of surveillance cameras, or CCTV, which Sony revealed when applying for JC status. Syarief admitted that his office is currently investigating the alleged corruption in CCTV procurement at the BGN, which was reported by Sony through his legal counsel during the JC application process. On that occasion, Syarief explained the reasons why AGO investigators rejected Sony’s JC application. The primary reason, he said, is that Sony is currently suspected of being one of the main perpetrators. “We have not been able to grant the Justice Collaborator application, or we have rejected the Justice Collaborator application from suspect SS,” Syarief stated. Syarief outlined two main considerations behind the investigators’ decision to reject the application. “We concluded that, firstly, SS is the party most responsible for determining or verifying the SPPG points,” he said. Therefore, Syarief stated that Sony is not a second-tier perpetrator who could expose other, larger parties in the MBG corruption case. Based on existing evidence, Sony is a vital perpetrator who participated in the buying and selling of SPPG points. The second consideration, Syarief noted, is that during the latest examination, Sony still denied his actions in the MBG corruption case. He explained that one of the main requirements for a JC application to be accepted is that the perpetrator must admit to their actions. “In yesterday’s examination, the investigators considered that the person concerned has not yet admitted to the actions as alleged,” he said.