Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – A senior prosecutor widely believed to be the key figure behind Gayus Tambunan's controversial March acquittal appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday to defend his actions during the rogue taxman's first trial.

A visibly uncomfortable Cirus Sinaga, who appeared in his prosecutor's uniform at Gayus's trial at the South Jakarta District Court, was pounded with questions about why he added the embezzlement charge against the former taxman, despite initial charges from the police of corruption and money laundering.

The earlier trial in Tangerang was based on the suspicious Rp 28 billion ($3.1 million) bank accounts in Gayus's name uncovered by a report by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK).

Gayus was eventually acquitted of all charges after prosecutors dropped the more serious counts of corruption and money laundering, and demanded only probation for minor embezzlement, which had nothing to do with his huge bank accounts.

In court on Wednesday, Cirus replied after a long pause that the embezzlement charge was added "to increase alternatives in the indictment so if the defendant was cleared of corruption, we could pursue him with money laundering and then embezzlement." He said after prosecutors examined police documents, they found indications that Gayus had embezzled a Rp 370 million fund unrelated to his huge bank accounts.

Cirus said his team had instructed police on Oct. 21, 2009, to seize the money from Gayus's accounts, and the seizure document was used as the evidence to add the embezzlement charge.

He also said Gayus was the subject of additional interrogation because of the embezzlement charge. But his answer sparked anger from the defense.

"Are you sure police seized the money after instruction from you?" said Gayus's lawyer, Adnan Buyung Nasution.

"Yes," Cirus replied.

"The bank said the seizure of the Rp 370 million fund took place on Oct. 14, not after your instruction [on Oct. 21] and I have the evidence," said the veteran lawyer, who then showed the seizure document to the judges and Cirus.

"What I want to say, Your Honor, is that his testimony is contradictory to the facts," Adnan said angrily.

Presiding judge Albertina Ho asked the lawyer to hold his questions until witnesses from Bank Central Asia testified on Monday.

Witnesses had earlier told the same court that Cirus apparentely asked police to add the embezzlement so he could handle the case. In the Attorney General's Office, corruption cases are prosecuted by the special crimes unit, while Cirus at that time served with the general crimes unit.

Cirus was formally named a suspect on Tuesday in a document forgery case related to Gayus's first trial, in which he allegedly leaked doctored sentencing demand papers to Haposan Hutagalung, a lawyer for Gayus at that time, who was then said to have used it as leverage to extort $50,000 from Gayus.

But Cirus also claimed in court on Wednesday that he didn't know Gayus personally and that he was too busy handling the high-profile murder trial of former antigraft agency Chairman Antasari Azhar to pay closer attention to the taxman's case.

Gayus, meanwhile, denied having undergone the additional questioning over the embezzlement charge as Cirus claimed.

A second prosecutor, Fadil Regan, also testified in the Wednesday's hearing and denied nearly all allegations against him in Gayus's Tangerang trial. Fadil, a member of the prosecution team in Gayus's first trial, said he never phoned police officers asking them to add the embezzlement charge.

"The officer, Arafat Enanie, told this court he got a phone call from you making that request, but you said here you never did that," Albertina said.

"Yes, Your Honor," Fadil said.

"So, one of you two is a liar. Do you know that? Two people said the opposite things about one event. And the liar can possibly be you," the judge told Fadil. "Be very careful with what you say in the court, especially because you are testifying under oath and false testimony brings legal consequences."

Arafat, one of the detectives assigned to investigate Gayus, was given a five-year jail term for "multiple counts of corruption," including receiving a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as a bribe.