The Irony of a Corruption Suspect Status

The alleged corruption case involving a payment gateway project that has implicated Denny Indrayana since 2015 has returned to the spotlight, as the former Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights actively voices his support for eradicating corruption and enforcing the law. In a recent article published on his personal website, Denny highlighted the importance of tackling corruption, including targeting alleged main actors. Criminal law expert from Bung Karno University, Hudi Yusuf, assessed that regardless of Denny’s suspect status, the case should not be allowed to drag on without legal certainty. He argued that law enforcement officials must immediately determine the direction of the case, especially since Denny has been a suspect for years. Hudi noted a weakness in the Criminal Procedure Code, which lacks a time limit for providing certainty to suspects who are not detained, unlike those who are. He urged investigators to either proceed with the case if they believe there is sufficient evidence or issue a warrant to terminate the investigation to avoid leaving the matter unresolved. Denny’s article also questioned the effectiveness of corruption eradication if law enforcement only targets lower-level perpetrators while ignoring alleged main actors. The case originated from his tenure as Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights from 2011 to 2014, when he launched a payment gateway system for passport payments. He is suspected of instructing the selection of two vendors without proper procedure, causing an alleged state loss of Rp32.09 billion. Despite being named a suspect by the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Division in 2015, Denny has never been detained and the case has shown no significant progress.