Defendant Claims Former Military Commander Widi Prasetijono Requested Rp21.5 Billion for Presidential Election

A defendant in a suspected money laundering case, Andhi Nur Huda, has claimed that former Diponegoro Regional Military Commander Lieutenant General Widi Prasetijono requested funds amounting to approximately Rp21.5 billion, citing the need for presidential election financing. The statement was made during a hearing at the Semarang Corruption Court on Wednesday. “There was a request from Mr Widi. He said the funds were for the presidential election,” Andhi stated. According to Andhi, the request was made in 2022, ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election stages. However, he admitted he did not know the exact purpose of the funds. “I do not know who the money was for; it was only conveyed as assistance for the presidential election,” he said during the session presided over by Judge Rightmen Situmorang. Andhi explained that Widi Prasetijono requested the money be sent via a cash deposit mechanism. He said the money was subsequently transferred to an account under the name of a businessman called Arif. Nevertheless, Andhi admitted he did not know the exact identity or connection of the businessman who received the flow of funds. In the same trial, Lt. Gen. Widi Prasetijono was scheduled to testify as a witness in the case against Andhi Nur Huda. The case relates to alleged corruption in the procurement of 716 hectares of land by PT Cilacap Segara Artha, a regional enterprise owned by the Cilacap Regency Government. Andhi has previously been sentenced in the primary corruption case concerning the land procurement. The former Director of PT Rumpun Sari Antan was initially sentenced to two years and ten months in prison at the first instance. However, the Central Java High Court later increased his sentence to 13 years after granting an appeal filed by the public prosecutor. In addition to the prison sentence, Andhi was also ordered to pay state losses amounting to Rp152.1 billion.