Hotman Paris Denies Raffi Ahmad Received iPhone 17 from Blueray: 'Just Small Talk'

Presidential Special Envoy for Youth and Creative Workers, Raffi Ahmad, has denied involvement in the alleged import bribery case at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise. This was conveyed through his attorney, Hotman Paris, during a press conference at Le Nusa Jakarta restaurant in South Jakarta on Thursday, 11 June 2026. “So once again, the conclusion is: one, Raffi has never visited Blue Ray,” Hotman told the media. He explained that his client was in front of the Blueray store because an employee had asked to take a photo together. “It’s not that he never visited; the photo was taken in front of the Blueray store,” Raffi Ahmad clarified. “That’s not called a visit. Secondly, Raffi was visiting Awang Kitchen, and a Blueray employee came over asking for a photo and pulled him in front of the shop. Because it so happens Awang Kitchen and Blueray are next to each other,” he continued. Hotman added that at the time, an offer was made to send an iPhone 17. However, he stressed that this was merely small talk and no such delivery ever took place. “At that point, that’s the perk of being a celebrity like us—being offered, ‘Do you want me to send you a phone?’ I mean, come on, for the two of us, what’s a mobile phone? Saying that isn’t being arrogantly rich; to you lot, an iPhone 17 isn’t even considered that expensive, let alone to us,” Hotman explained. “But why has this become a national issue? Just imagine the sickness of this country. What is happening to this nation? Maybe a lot of people are mentally ill. He was just making small talk: ‘Do you want me to send you a phone since the iPhone 17 isn’t available in Indonesia yet?’ Since then, there has been no communication whatsoever. There was no question from Raffi like, ‘Where’s my phone?’—none,” he continued. Subsequently, a sting operation was conducted on Blueray, and during the trial, there were conversations that brought up Raffi Ahmad’s name. It was written that there was an order from Raffi Ahmad, which sparked the uproar over Raffi’s alleged involvement in the import bribery scandal at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise.