Prevent Conflict of Interest, Febrie Adriansyah's Money Laundering Case Urged to Be Transferred to KPK
The SETARA Institute is urging President Prabowo Subianto to take decisive action regarding the handling of the suspected money laundering case involving former Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes Febrie Adriansyah. The handling of the case by the Attorney General’s Office is deemed to arouse public suspicion and potentially suffer a legitimacy crisis due to a conflict of interest.
Chairman of the SETARA Institute’s National Board, Hendardi, requested that the President order the transfer of the case’s handling from the AGO to the Corruption Eradication Commission. Hendardi specifically highlighted a statement from the AGO indicating there were matters that could not be disclosed to the public during the investigation process.
“Such a statement is a worrying dynamic and actually magnifies public suspicion. Confidentiality must not become a shield to cover up accountability,” Hendardi stressed in a written statement on Wednesday.
In his analysis, Hendardi outlined several procedural irregularities. One was observed when Febrie was detained at the KPK Detention Centre without wearing a detainee’s vest or handcuffs, which is standard procedure for corruption suspects. Furthermore, the search process by investigators was considered to lack adequate explanation regarding its relevance and findings.
“A number of developments show the AGO is not handling this case professionally, accountably, or convincingly. The combination of these irregularities erodes public trust and raises concerns the case will end with a scenario favourable to the suspect,” he explained.
SETARA Institute emphasised that the objectivity of the case handling will continue to be questioned as long as it is conducted by an institution investigating its own former top official. Intervention by President Prabowo is considered crucial to safeguard legal independence and prevent a public trust crisis in the government.
“Transferring the case handling to the KPK is a constitutional step to ensure justice is upheld independently, free from conflicts of interest, and acceptable to public common sense,” Hendardi concluded.
Previously, the AGO officially named Febrie Adriansyah a suspect in the alleged money laundering case. Febrie is currently detained at the KPK Detention Centre. The suspect designation is part of an investigation into four Investigation Orders handled by the AGO, following the transfer of case files from the Police Criminal Investigation Agency’s Corruption Task Force and the Metro Jaya Regional Police’s Special Criminal Investigation Directorate. In this case, investigators have seized evidence in the form of 74 kilograms of gold assets and cash amounting to Rp476 billion.