Police Examine 15 Witnesses in Coal Corruption Case
Polda Metro Jaya held a press conference on the progress of the investigation into the alleged coal, ASABRI and Krakatau Steel corruption case, following searches of at least 12 locations in Jakarta through to Sentul, Bogor Regency.
At the press conference, Head of Public Relations for Polda Metro Jaya, Police Commissioner Budi Hermanto, said that investigators from the Special Crimes Directorate of Polda Metro Jaya and the National Police Anti-Corruption Task Force (Kortastipidkor) had questioned 15 witnesses in the suspected corruption and money laundering case related to the coal and Asabri matters.
“Fifteen witnesses have so far been questioned,” said Budi Hermanto at the press conference on Friday (10/7).
Among the witnesses are two employees of the de’Clan Signature café in Cipete, South Jakarta; and four employees of Koin Money Changer in Cipete, South Jakarta, with the initials DH, HH, ER and RB respectively.
Both premises were searched on Wednesday (8/7).
Then there is one witness from the search location in Gandaria, South Jakarta, with the initials DR, and a witness from the Pacific Place search location with the initials TK.
“This includes one witness, DR’s driver, as well as a witness with the initials NH. The search conducted last night involved a witness by the name of MIL. There are two further witnesses, security guards at Sentul, named R and A,” said Budi.
Budi explained that as of last night, joint investigators from the Special Crimes Directorate of Polda Metro Jaya and the National Police Anti-Corruption Task Force were continuing to dig into the three corruption cases under investigation.
“Investigators are taking steps to examine the alleged criminal acts of corruption, including bribery, gratuities and money laundering,” he said.
Previously, the Head of the National Police Anti-Corruption Task Force, Inspector General Totok Suharyanto, explained that three corruption cases were being handled through a joint investigation mechanism with Polda Metro Jaya.
“The handling of the corruption and money laundering cases concerns the legal process against the PLN coal matter, then Asabri for the years 2020 to 2025, and the alleged corruption in the settlement of PT CBS’s debt to PT KNI (a subsidiary of Krakatau Steel) between 2020 and 2025,” he told journalists at the search location in Cipete.
Regarding these cases, Budi said investigators had searched 12 locations in the Jakarta area through to Sentul, Bogor, West Java. Earlier reports said 13 locations had been searched, but last night Budi stated that one location was cancelled or had not yet been searched.
A number of pieces of evidence in the form of cash in various denominations and currencies, such as US and Singapore dollars, as well as gold bullion weighing tens of kilograms, were secured by police during the searches.