Steven S. Musa – Yudi Setiawan, a suspect in an embezzlement probe involving two regional banks on Java, has accused Prosperous Justice Party officials of benefitting from the allegedly dirty money.
Eben said his client, who is the director of education equipment distributor Cipta Inti Parmindo, was the victim of a conspiracy in the misuse of credit from Bank Jawa Timur (Bank Jatim) and Bank Jabar Banten.
"Aside from applying [for credit] to Bank Jatim, our client also applied for credit to BJB worth Rp 75 billion [$7.7 million]," said Yudi's attorney Eben Eser Ginting, in Jakarta on Friday.
Eben called on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to take over Yudi's case, claiming that it was strongly linked to the beef import scandal graft case that has dragged down former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq.
Eben accused the National Police of bias in handling the case because the investigators didn't investigate the politicians and accounts that had received the funds. "The National Police headquarters seems to be covering up the people who received the funds," he said.
His client no longer trusted National Police investigators, Eben added, due to their allegedly selective probe. "The case was investigated by the East Java Police and then taken over by the National Police headquarters. Now, we want the KPK to take over the case," he said.
He alleged that the embezzled funds were also used to secure future projects in the Agriculture Ministry, which is at the heart of the ongoing beef imports investigation.
Eben said that with the intervention of a PKS official, his client's credit application suddenly soared to Rp 250 billion, and further intervention also saw the application approved. "There was indication that it [the intervention] was [by a] political party official with the initial 'A,'?" Eben said.
To back up his claims, Eben showed a photo of his client meeting with the PKS politician, but he declined to explain the purpose of the photographed meeting.
The PKS official identified by Eben with the initial "A" referred to Ahmad Heryawan, the incumbent West Java governor, who was re-elected to a second term earlier this month.
Ahmad, who has previously been linked to the credit scandal, denies any involvement. "That's rubbish. This can be categorized as character assassination," Ahmad said on Thursday, as quoted by Liputan6.com.
Ahmad also denied the allegation last month during his campaign, saying it was a politically motivated charge. "The issue is not convincing. It's an issue [used during] the regional election," Ahmad said at the time.
The case involves a credit application that BJB allegedly approved that was three times above the credit ceiling for Cipta Inti Parmindo. Ahmad is thought to have used his influence to get the bank to approve the credit. The West Java governor is also one of the bank's shareholders.
Ahmad has said that there were no state losses found in the case, adding that Bank Indonesia, as the banking supervisor, could have followed up on the case if it suspected he was involved in any wrongdoing at BJB.
"It's not my problem if there's an irregularity, it's the bank's business. What does it have to do with me? I have no business if irregularities were found, it's the business of BJB and BI and BI should control it," he said last month. Ahmad threatened to take legal action if the allegations continue.
Reports say that BJB disbursed Rp 38 billion in fictitious credit to Koperasi Bina Usaha, which is owned by Alpindo Mitra Baja, at the end of last year. Ahmad is accused of being involved in expending the false funds.
It was found later that there were irregularities related to the credit, as Koperasi Bina Usaha did not meet the requirements to receive the funds and the bank did not validate the data.
The KPK has confirmed that it had received reports about the alleged graft practice. However, KPK spokesman Johan Budi has refused to mention the person or group that reported it.
Ahmad said that he would not be bothered by the report to the KPK, insisting that it was not a fact. "KPK people are not stupid," Ahmad said. "A rubbish report will not be followed up."