Raffi Ahmad's Name Linked to Customs Bribery Case
The name of the Special Envoy to the President for the Development of Youth and Arts, Raffi Ahmad, has been implicated in an alleged bribery case related to goods importation within the Directorate General of Customs and Excise of the Ministry of Finance. Raffi’s name emerged due to his visit to the Blueray Cargo office in the United States, where he reportedly requested the shipment of several electronic items, such as the iPhone 17, to Indonesia.
“It is true, there are facts that Mr RA [Raffi Ahmad] made a request to entrust items,” stated the Acting Director of Investigation at the KPK, Achmad Taufik Husein, at the KPK Red and White Building in Jakarta on Monday (8/6). However, Taufik admitted that investigators have not yet further developed this fact within the Customs bribery investigation. “We did not expand on it too far yesterday because it has not yet reached the stage of facts that strengthen the claim that it was part of the Blueray incident involving customs clearance at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise; therefore, we did not issue a summons,” he explained.
Nevertheless, Taufik noted that the KPK remains open to further investigation should other evidence emerge that could strengthen the suspicion of criminal activity. The name of Raffi Ahmad first appeared during a trial at the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday (5/6) in the case involving the defendant, John Field, leader of Blueray Cargo (Group), and others.
During the proceedings, prosecutors questioned a witness, Sri Pangestuti (also known as Tuti), a customs brokerage service entrepreneur, regarding requests to ship laptops and iPhone 17s from the US to Indonesia. The request was reportedly conveyed by Yohanes, an assistant to John Field, during Raffi’s visit to the Blueray Cargo office in the US. While the witness confirmed the communication, she claimed she was reluctant to fulfil the request.
Raffi’s name was also documented in the interrogation report of Yohanes. Yohanes explained that the shipment request involved Nelwan, the Head of Division for Blueray Cargo in the US, while Raffi was on holiday. He noted that the iPhone 17 shipment ultimately did not proceed to Indonesia. As of now, Raffi Ahmad has not issued a statement regarding the mention of his name in this case.
John Field and two subordinates, Dedy Kurniawan Sukolo and Andri, are accused of bribing several officials within the Directorate General of Customs and Excise with Rp61 billion in cash, alongside entertainment facilities and luxury goods valued at Rp1.8 billion. The recipients of the bribes include Rizal, Director of Enforcement and Investigation; Sisprian Subiaksono, Sub-director of Intelligence; and Orlando Hamonangan, Head of Customs Intelligence Section I. Alleged payments included substantial sums to these officials, as well as luxury items such as a Tag Heuer watch and a Mazda CX-5 vehicle.