Rizky Amelia & Ezra Sihite – The husband of corruption suspect Nunun Nurbaetie has denied influencing a former lawmaker to vote for economist Miranda Goeltom as a Bank Indonesia deputy governor in 2004.
Adang Daradjatun, a former National Police deputy chief, says he knew Udju Djuhaeri, who was a member of the now-defunct police and military faction in the House of Representatives, but never tried to sway his vote.
"I was the National Police deputy chief at the time but the faction was dominated by members of the Armed Forces," he said. "How would it have been possible for me to give orders to member of the military?"
Adang's wife, Nunun, is at the center of a Rp 24 billion ($2.6 million) bribery scandal linked to Miranda's appointment. A total of 28 former and active lawmakers had been convicted of receiving bribe money, including Udju, a retired police officer.
Udju was questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Monday, and told commissioners that Adang had facilitated a meeting between him, Nunun and Miranda. Nunun and Miranda are said to be friends who ran in the same social circles.
The antigraft commission also questioned Arie Malangjudo on Monday. Arie is a former director of Wahana Eka Sembada, a palm oil plantation company that was owned by Nunun.
Arie told the KPK that in 2004 Nunun ordered him to distribute traveler's checks to lawmakers from the Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP), the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the police and military faction. All of these lawmakers supported Miranda's bid to become the central bank's senior deputy governor.
"[Nunun] asked me for a favor so I distributed what had been entrusted with me," Arie told reporters at the KPK office in South Jakarta.
Arie, however, claimed that he did not know what the travelers' checks were for. "But they turned out to be controversial," he said.
KPK spokesman Priharsa Nugraha said the antigraft commission had also summoned Budi Santoso, the finance director of First Mujur Plantation. According to the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), an anti-money laundering body, the checks were purchased by First Mujur from Bank International Indonesia. First Mujur is an associated company of the Artha Graha Group, which also owns Artha Graha Bank.
Shortly after Miranda was appointed to Bank Indonesia, Artha Graha Bank purchased a small lender, Bank Inter-Pacific, which allowed it to list on the Indonesia Stock Exchange without an initial public offering. The central bank signed off on the merger.
Nunun was arrested last month after spending nearly two years abroad. KPK chairman Abraham Samad has said that with information from Nunun, they now have enough evidence to name the alleged mastermind of the bribery as a suspect in the case.
The antigraft body has so far arrested and convicted people who received the bribe but not the alleged financier. Nunun has said she told investigators everything she knows.