Raffi Ahmad Denies Involvement in Customs Bribery Case

Presidential Special Envoy Raffi Ahmad has asserted he was not involved in a suspected bribery case related to the importation of goods within the Directorate General of Customs and Excise at the Ministry of Finance. Raffi explained that in 2023, he travelled to the United States to participate in a marathon event in Chicago. He went with his wife Nagita Slavina, Ariel Noah, Desta, and Gading Marten. ‘Gading and Desta did not take part in the marathon; I ran with Ariel in the Chicago marathon. It was a major marathon, you know. My wife also joined, and there were many Indonesian runners there. I was happy to check on them,’ Raffi said during a press conference in South Jakarta on Thursday. After Chicago, Raffi and the group went straight to New York as they had some free time. In New York, Raffi said he and his colleagues also promoted businesses owned by Indonesians living there. The Special Envoy for Youth Development and Arts Workers stated he visited the Awang Kitchen restaurant and the Indojava shop while in New York. ‘So, after I ate at Awang Kitchen and Indojava, you can see later in the vlog and photos that many Indonesian friends asked for photos and such,’ Raffi remarked. He explained that outside Awang Kitchen, a few doors down, there was a shop called Blueray. Raffi disclosed that outside the Blueray shop, he was called over by an employee and asked for a photo together, although he admitted he did not enter the shop. ‘Yes, he introduced himself, but I did not know him. I didn’t know them. Then they said, ‘Mr Raffi, our company, Blueray, we can send you anything you want, a mobile phone, a laptop, an iPad, anything,’’ Raffi recounted. He added that he was offered the latest mobile phone, a proposal he admitted responding to, but claimed it was merely small talk. ‘It was impossible not to say something; I said, ‘Oh, no, I don’t want to send things through you’—of course, I could not say that,’ he said. ‘So I replied, ‘Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay, when the new mobile phone comes out, I’ll send it over.’ That was the extent of it. Essentially, I was making polite conversation. After that, I left for another place. That was it,’ he continued. Raffi stressed that after that moment, he had no further contact or communication with Blueray. He also confirmed he never received any shipments from them. He stated he did not have their phone number, never received any deliveries, could not recall their name, and made no transactional orders. Confused by suggestions he was in contact with them, he insisted the interaction was purely small talk. Raffi Ahmad has been mentioned in the alleged bribery case regarding imports at Customs and Excise. His name first emerged at the trial of the defendants, Blueray Cargo Group principal John Field and associates, at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court. During that session, KPK prosecutors questioned witness Sri Pangestuti, also known as Tuti, a Customs Service Entrepreneur, regarding a request to send a laptop and an iPhone 17 from the United States to Indonesia. The request was reportedly conveyed by Yohanes, a personal assistant to John Field, when Raffi visited the Blueray Cargo office in the US. The KPK has confirmed that Raffi’s name was mentioned in the case. The acting Director of Investigations at the KPK, Achmad Taufik Husein, explained his name surfaced because he once visited the Blueray Cargo office in the United States to entrust or send several electronic goods to Indonesia.