Heru Andriyantop, Jakarta – Gayus Tambunan took the stand again on Wednesday and talked more about behind-the-scenes dealings with police officers and a Tangerang judge who were later charged with taking bribes in the taxman's corruption case.

Gayus has been on trial at the South Jakarta District Court since September after being acquitted by the Tangerang District Court in March.

He said on Wednesday that he had undergone a series of "unusual" police interrogations at hotels in Jakarta after the scandal over his unexplained wealth broke last year.

Police investigator Comr. Arafat Enanie, who originally handled the investigation into Gayus, was reportedly the first to discuss his money-laundering case, scheduling a meeting at Park Lane Hotel in July last year.

"I can recall precisely what [Arafat] told me. He said, 'We are eager to help. The important thing is that you answer [our] questions,'?" Gayus said during Wednesday's trial, at which Judge Albertina Ho presided.

"Arafat said, 'I guarantee that we have no intention of detaining you,'?" Gayus said. "He told me he had been following my case since he was stationed at the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center [PPATK]."

The detective had worked on the case with Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the former PPATK deputy chief who was later promoted to National Police chief of detectives. Arafat has been sentenced to five years in jail for taking bribes in the Gayus case.

The PPATK had raised suspicions of money laundering and corruption after it discovered Rp 28 billion ($3 million) stashed in Gayus's bank accounts. At the time, Gayus was a mid-level tax official, with a typical salary of no more than Rp 2 million a month.

In March, Susno also became a whistle-blower in a police bribery case, only to be declared a graft suspect himself.

Gayus's first interrogation at National Police headquarters was on Sept. 1 last year, but he testified on Wednesday that his lawyer had cut that meeting short and asked that it be moved to a hotel in the evening. "[The lawyer said] let's continue this tonight at the hotel," Gayus said.

The tax official has since been accused of paying billions of rupiah to police officers, judges and prosecutors during his original trial to get a favorable verdict. He has also admitted to buying his way out of detention on several occasions.

Judge's plea

Gayus also talked about his controversial embezzlement trial in Tangerang in which he was acquitted earlier this year.

About a week before the verdict was delivered, he said, the presiding judge, Muhtadi Asnun, called him several times.

Gayus said the judge wanted help getting his daughter a job at the tax office. Gayus said he was also invited to Muhtadi's house twice to discuss bribes.

In the first meeting, he said he proposed giving $20,000 for the three judges on the panel, with Muhtadi to get $10,000. He said Muhtadi demanded $20,000 just for himself.

Just before dawn on March 12, the day the verdict was read, Muhtadi reportedly sent a message asking Gayus for an additional $10,000 because his daughter wanted to buy a Honda Jazz. Muhtadi allegedly instructed Gayus to provide the money – $40,000 in total – before 10 a.m. that day.

"So I visited the judge's house that morning, but without the money, because Haposan [Gayus's lawyer] had earlier asked for $500,000 for judges, police and prosecutors," Gayus said, contradicting his earlier testimony that he had carried the bribe money "in his pocket."

Gayus said Muhtadi later apologized to him, telling him to forget about the money. "Asnun said, 'I am sorry for the phone calls and the text messages. I will perform umroh [minor Islamic pilgrimage] and it's not right for me as a judge to ask money from a defendant,'?" the former tax official said.

His statements were immediately dismissed by prosecutors, who accused Gayus of twisting the facts. Gayus had earlier testified in a trial related to his case that he had handed over $40,000 in cash to Muhtadi, hours before he was acquitted.

Kuntadi, a prosecutor, replayed the recording of Gayus's testimony to refute Gayus's latest claim that he had only brought a cellphone with him to the meeting with Muhtadi on March 12.

Also on Wednesday, Gayus reiterated that he had received Rp 35 billion from three Bakrie Group companies – Kaltim Prima Coal, Bumi Resources and Arutmin – in exchange for helping them avoid their tax obligations.

When asked by the presiding judge, Albertina, where the rest of the money went, since his bank accounts were only found to contain Rp 28 billion, Gayus replied: "I kept the rest in my home, your honor."

He alleged that two middlemen, brothers Alief Kuncoro and Imam Cahyo Maliki, had been tasked to deliver the Bakrie money. "All the money was handed over through Alief," he said.

The trial has been adjourned until Dec. 22, at which point the prosecution is expected to submit its sentencing demand.