NTB Prosecutor's Office Withdraws Verzet, Immediately Appeals Acquittal of 3 NTB DPRD Members

The West Nusa Tenggara High Prosecutor’s Office has opted to directly file a cassation appeal after the Mataram District Court rejected its challenge against the acquittal of three NTB Regional House of Representatives members in a gratification case involving ‘ghost money’. The NTB High Prosecutor’s Office had previously planned to pursue a verzet legal challenge, but that step was cancelled after prosecutors decided to file a cassation appeal. ‘We stated this afternoon that we have registered a cassation appeal and have obtained the cassation deed,’ said NTB High Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Muhammad Harun Al Rasyid on Friday, 14 August 2026. The three acquitted NTB DPRD members are Hamdan Kasim, Indra Jaya Usman, and Muhammad Nashib Ikroman, also known as Acip. Harun stated that the prosecutors filed the cassation by referring to the Constitutional Court Decision Number 114 of 2012, which annulled the prohibition against cassation for acquittals. ‘Based on Constitutional Court Decision Number 114 of 2012, which assessed that the old Criminal Procedure Code article is similar to the new one, the interpretation is the same, prohibiting cassation. So we believe the Constitutional Court decision is final and binding,’ he said. The prosecutors had also submitted a memorandum of cassation when stating their position, but the Mataram District Court rejected it. ‘The memorandum of cassation was simply rejected. I don’t know the reason,’ he added. Regarding the cancellation of the verzet, Harun said the prosecutors chose to directly refer to the Constitutional Court ruling. The NTB High Prosecutor’s Office continues to pursue legal action because it believes the three defendants are guilty. Previously, the panel of judges at the Mataram Corruption Court, chaired by Dewi Santini, acquitted the three defendants. The judges ruled that the three were not proven to have committed the criminal acts as charged by the prosecutors, although they believed that dozens of NTB DPRD members received money. The judges assessed that the distribution of money was related to the Desa Berdaya programme, one of the flagship programmes of NTB Governor Lalu Muhammad Iqbal. However, the panel stated that the implementation of the programme was the authority of the regional government, not the NTB DPRD. ‘The executor of all programme activities in the regional budget is the governor, as the head of the region assisted by regional apparatus units. The governor is the source of the budget and the technical executor of the governor’s programme or Desa Berdaya. Meanwhile, the NTB DPRD does not have the function and authority to implement the 2025 Provincial Budget, including the governor’s directive,’ said Ad Hoc Judge at the Mataram Corruption Court, Irawan Ismail. The panel also concluded that the payment of money to NTB DPRD members was not related to their official functions, authority, or powers. Previously, prosecutors had demanded Indra Jaya Usman be sentenced to one year and six months in prison and a fine of Rp 400 million, subsidiary to six months in custody. He was also required to pay restitution of Rp 100 million, subsidiary to three months in custody. Meanwhile, Acip and Hamdan Kasim were each demanded one year and six months in prison and a fine of Rp 100 million, subsidiary to three months in custody. The case originated from the Desa Berdaya programme, a priority programme of NTB Governor Lalu Muhammad Iqbal. The programme was budgeted at Rp 76 billion from the governor’s directive. Iqbal assigned the programme to be carried out by NTB DPRD members for the 2024-2029 period and asked the three defendants to socialise it with other NTB DPRD members. However, the budget had not yet been disbursed.