Questions Surrounding the Prosecutor

The night was not too late when a convoy of law enforcement vehicles stopped at several distant points. In South Jakarta, building doors were opened one by one. In the corner of a room, a safe was examined. Drawers were ransacked. Documents were scrutinised. Electronic goods were packed. Large suitcases that had been hidden inside the building were then taken out under tight guard to the investigators’ vehicles. At other locations, similar scenes unfolded almost simultaneously. From Jakarta to Bogor, eight places were searched in an operation that seized public attention. People who witnessed it may have only seen piles of money and suitcases being transported. But in truth, that night, it was not just building doors that were being opened. A number of big questions about law enforcement in this country were also opened. The search was too large to be called just an ordinary search. Eight locations, from Jakarta to Bogor, were visited by joint investigators with security from armed apparatus, namely the TNI. Suitcases containing cash, documents, and electronic goods were taken out as evidence. Money can indeed be put into a suitcase. But question marks never fit inside. They actually come out with the suitcases, then spread into the public sphere. The almost simultaneous operation immediately became a national concern. It is difficult to discuss the search without mentioning the name Febrie Adriansyah. Over the past few years, he has been one of the most prominent figures in the special crimes division of the Attorney General’s Office. As the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) at the time, he led or supervised the handling of several major corruption cases that seized public attention, ranging from Jiwasraya, Asabri, PT Timah, Garuda Indonesia, BTS Kominfo, to cases in the mining sector. For many, his name is synonymous with the face of a Prosecutor’s Office that is actively hunting corruptors. It is precisely because of that track record that the public is wondering: where is Febrie’s position in this search? Until this note was written, there has been no official explanation from investigators stating that the search was conducted because Febrie has become a suspect or because of an alleged criminal act directly aimed at him. What the public knows is limited to the existence of a search at a location that various news reports have mentioned was once owned or associated with him. The legal relationship between that location and the case construction is still awaiting an official explanation from investigators. This is where the question marks arise. Why was this operation carried out on such a large scale? Is the case construction being investigated truly so large that it requires simultaneous operations in many locations? Or is there an institutional message that wants to be shown to the public? Also attracting attention is the presence of TNI personnel around the search locations. What is the basis for their involvement? Is it solely for security, or are there other considerations? Until this note was written, the official explanation was also not clear. It is this lack of explanation that ultimately gives birth to various interpretations. Why also was the chosen location a place that has been associated in the news with the former Jampidsus? Is the place merely a storage location for evidence, part of a flow of funds, or does it indeed have a substantive relationship with the case being investigated? As of yesterday, the official explanation had not been delivered. So another question arises that is no less interesting. Does this search have a connection with the polemic over the alleged stalking of the Jampidsus in 2024? At that time, the public was left wondering after the Prosecutor’s Office stated there was an alleged stalking of the Jampidsus, while the Police stated the matter had been examined and did not disrupt the relationship between the two institutions.