Ruling on Former Jampidsus Febrie’s Objection ‘Deferred’; Trial to Continue

The judge ordered prosecutors to continue presenting evidence in the case against former Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Febrie Adriansyah. Prosecutors must bring witnesses to the next hearing to substantiate the charges of extortion and money laundering against him.

“The court rules that the objection filed by the defendant, represented by Febrie Adriansyah’s lawyers, will be decided together with the final judgment,” presiding judge Akhmad Fijiarsyah Joko Sutrisno said as he read out the interlocutory ruling at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday (26 October 2026).

Article 206(3) of the new Criminal Procedure Code provides that a judge may decide an objection after the examination of the case has concluded. It states: “If the judge declares that the objection is inadmissible, or considers that it can only be decided after the examination has concluded, the hearing shall continue.”

The judges said Febrie’s objections must be tested during the evidentiary stage through examination of the substance of the case. They considered that prosecutors had set out the alleged sequence of acts.

“The questions of whether that sequence of acts actually occurred; whether it demonstrates conscious co-operation and joint execution as referred to in Article 20(c) of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code; whether the defendant’s position was sufficient to meet the elements of abuse of authority and coercion, even though the words of intimidation were spoken by someone else,” the judge said.

“And whether the defendant’s intention existed before the meeting with Tan Kian or arose only afterwards are questions about whether the elements of participation in the offence have been met. They can only be answered on the basis of evidence presented in court,” the judge continued.

The judges said Febrie’s objection did not concern a formal requirement for the indictment, but rather the assessment of evidence. They also held that proof of the predicate offence need not be established first as a prerequisite for prosecuting money laundering, under Article 69 of Law No. 8 of 2010.

“Accordingly, the objection that there is no separate charge for a predicate offence is not grounds for halting the examination of the case. The final assessment of that argument, including whether the elements of money laundering have been proven, will be considered after the evidentiary proceedings and decided together with the final judgment,” the judge said.

The court said prosecutors had also described 74 kilograms of gold and several foreign currencies, including their storage, types, denominations and amounts, and linked them to allegations that Febrie jointly placed or controlled the assets with Don Ritto and Nurman Herin. In the judges’ view, the indictment identified the assets, the manner in which they were allegedly placed or controlled, the parties involved and their suspected connection to the offences charged.

“The defendant has therefore received an adequate understanding of the accusations he faces. The fact that the indictment does not set out in detail the entire origins of the assets and the series of transactions does not automatically make it unclear, or amount to an obscuur libel,” the judge said.

The judges found no defect that would render the indictment void by law and ordered prosecutors to call witnesses at the next hearing to prove their case.

“Having considered the matter, the panel finds that the indictment provides a sufficient account of the alleged sequence of events, including when and where the incidents forming the basis of the charges took place, giving the defendant an opportunity to defend himself against the allegations,” the judge said.

Febrie was previously charged with extorting Rp55 billion from businessman Tan Kian. Prosecutors said he carried out the alleged extortion through Ferry Yanto Hongkiriwang. Febrie and others were also charged with laundering a total of Rp346,743,821,282 (Rp346 billion) and US$440,990 (about Rp7.9 billion).

Febrie is alleged to have concealed the money by buying various assets. Prosecutors also described the contents of three safes opened during the investigation, one of which contained 74kg of gold. They also alleged that Febrie and Don Ritto laundered money by buying a café where they regularly spent time.