Rizal, Defendant in Customs Case, Denies Receiving Rp14bn from Cargo Boss

Former Director of Enforcement and Investigation at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise Rizal has denied receiving Rp14 billion from Blueray Cargo. He also insisted that he had never received unofficial payments from anyone, either directly or through subordinates.

“Regarding the allegation that I knew about and received payments from witness John Field through witness Orlando, Your Honours, in line with the testimony I have given in open court, I state again, clearly and truthfully, in this personal defence plea, that I did not know about, never ordered, and never received money from witness John Field, Mr Dedi Kurniawan, Mr Andri or any other parties, either directly or through my subordinates,” Rizal said while reading his personal plea at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court on Friday (30 October 2026).

Rizal said testimony by Orlando Hamonangan, head of Customs Intelligence Section I in the Directorate of Enforcement and Investigation, about the alleged Rp14 billion payment had repeatedly changed. He described Orlando’s testimony as a lie.

“Your Honours, through this personal defence plea I again firmly and truthfully reject all of witness Orlando Hamonangan’s statements that the prosecution has relied on to allege that I knew about and received money from John Field. All the statements given by witness Orlando Hamonangan in court are blatant lies,” he said.

He said he had never used the Special Operational Fund for Safeguarding State Revenue (DOKPPN) for personal purposes. He also denied ordering subordinates to seek or use operational funds from sources outside the official budget while carrying out the directorate’s duties.

He said testimony from witness Gatot Heroe Hernanda that Rizal had instructed him and witness Sisprian Subiaksono to seek operational funds outside the DOKPPN had been disproved in court. Rizal said he had never discussed, let alone ordered anyone, to seek, collect or use funds from outside the state budget (DIPA).

Rizal said the installation of an exhaust fan was part of an office renovation which, to his knowledge, was funded through the General Affairs budget. He also said he understood that tickets for flights between Jakarta and Jambi had been paid for from the routine budget.

“Regarding the purchase of alcoholic drinks for coordination at a National Narcotics Agency (BNN) event, and podcast equipment for Sinkos, to my knowledge those items were procured using the DOKPPN, in line with my instructions and message to the P2 team always to use available official budget allocations for every activity,” Rizal said.

He added that the expenditure was permissible under the rules because the cleaning was part of coordination and information-gathering for intelligence and oversight purposes.

Rizal asked the panel of judges to acquit him of the charges and the prosecution’s demands. He said he had never agreed to abuse his authority.

“I did not know about or commit the acts alleged by the prosecution, whether giving orders or receiving money, gifts or other benefits from anyone. Nor did I conspire to abuse my authority by doing or refraining from doing something for the benefit of individuals or other parties, as the evidence presented in court has shown,” Rizal said.

He also asked the judges to take into account his polite and co-operative conduct during the investigation and trial. He said he had consistently and openly reported all his assets since 2011 through the State Officials’ Wealth Report (LHKPN).

“The suffering that my family and I have endured during more than eight months in detention feels sufficient to atone for my shortcomings in supervising the integrity of some personnel within my directorate. This is not an admission that I received money or committed the acts alleged, because those allegations are untrue,” he said.

Rizal said items he received at a handover event had been reported as gratuities within the required period. He also asked the judges to order prosecutors to return assets unrelated to the case.

“This is the first and last case of its kind in my life. During more than 27 years of service as a civil servant, I have never faced disciplinary punishment, let alone a criminal case,” he said.

In the bribery and gratuities case, prosecutors have demanded an 11-and-a-half-year prison sentence, a Rp1 billion fine, with 190 days’ imprisonment in lieu of payment, and Rp15.7 billion in compensation, with a further four years’ imprisonment in lieu.