Medan District Court Acquits Four Defendants in PTPN Asset Sale Corruption Case

The Panel of Judges at the Corruption Court of the Medan District Court has delivered an acquittal for four defendants involved in the alleged corruption case concerning the sale of PTPN I Regional I (formerly PTPN II) assets to the developer PT Ciputra Land. The verdict was read during a session held in the Cakra Utama Room on Wednesday night (3/6/202<0xC2>6).

The four defendants found not guilty are Imam Subakti (former Director of PT Nusa Dua Propertindo), Askani (former Head of the North Sumatra BPN Regional Office), Abdul Rahim Lubis (former Head of the Deli Serdang Land Office), and Irwan Perangin-angin (former Director of PTPN II).

The judges determined that the defendants were not proven to have committed acts of corruption related to the operational cooperation (KSO) scheme with PT Nusa Dua Propertindo for the development of the Citraland residential area on 8,077 hectares of land. In addition to dismissing all charges, the judges ordered that the defendants’ rights be restored in terms of their capacity, position, and dignity.

This verdict stands in stark contrast to the demands made by the Public Prosecutor (JPU) of the North Sumatra High Prosecutor’s Office. Previously, Prosecutor Hendri Edison Sipahutar had sought a prison sentence of 1 year and 6 months for all four individuals, along with a fine of Rp500 million, or a subsidiary of 3 months’ imprisonment.

In this case, the prosecution also sought state financial compensation of Rp263.43 billion from PT Nusa Dua Propertindo. According to court data, this amount had reportedly been paid in full to the state treasury through the North Sumatra High Prosecutor’s Office prior to the verdict.

Following the acquittal, the panel of judges ordered the immediate release of the defendants from the detention centre. The prosecution stated they would study the verdict before determining their next legal steps, such as an appeal to the Supreme Court (cassation).