Noel Claims He Never Inquired About the Origin of Rp 3 Billion and Ducati from “Sultan Kemnaker”

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Former Deputy Minister of Manpower, Immanuel Ebenezer or Noel, claims he never inquired about the origins of the Rp 3 billion and the Ducati motorcycle he received in the occupational safety and health certification (K3) extortion case.

“I never asked about that,” said Noel during the trial held at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday (7/5/2026).

The money was given by Irvian Bobby Mahendro, an employee at the Ministry of Manpower, nicknamed “Sultan Kemnaker”.

The prosecutor then questioned why Noel did not find it suspicious to receive luxury gifts from a civil servant.

“Because it wasn’t a new motorcycle, it was a second-hand one,” Noel replied.

During the trial, Noel also admitted to receiving the Rp 3 billion, which was said to come from Bobby.

Noel explained that the money handover was done through a person named Agung, his son’s friend who reportedly works as an online motorcycle taxi driver.

He claimed he did not know the details of the money handover because of his high mobility in activities.

“My duties are political duties,” he said.

He also claimed not to know about internal issues regarding alleged non-technical practices in handling K3 certificates within the Ministry of Manpower.

“I never knew. It didn’t reach me there,” he stated.

During the trial, Noel also revealed his reason for being willing to help Bobby when he claimed to have issues with law enforcement officials (APH).

“It was just a technical communication matter,” he said.