Jakarta – Former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq has accused the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of drumming up charges against him in the high-profile beef import scandal.
Luthfi's lawyer, Mohamad Assegaf, said in his client's defense statement that KPK prosecutors had built a weak case against the former PKS party chairman.
"There are a lot of holes in the indictment. The indictment doesn't explain what exactly Luthfi's role was in the case. We believe there's a political motive behind this trial," Assegaf said.
Luthfi's team of lawyers also accused KPK prosecutors of cherry-picking facts and evidence that they could deploy against their client.
Assegaf said the indictment ignored testimonies from witnesses that alleged the complicity of some political bigwigs, including Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, chairman of the Golkar Party faction at the House of Representatives Setya Novanto, and Yudi Setiawan, who is said to be a confidant of Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie.
"We have seen these names in the dossier, but they haven't been included in the indictment," said Zainuddin Paru, another one of Luthfi's lawyers. Zainuddin said his client was particularly concerned about the absence of Yudi's role in the scandal.
In an exclusive interview with Tempo magazine, Yudi claimed to have handed over millions of rupiah to a number of PKS executives through Ahmad Fathanah, one of the suspects in the beef import case.
Yudi said that Luthfi told him about a scheme to collect Rp 1 trillion (US$100.73 million) from the Agriculture Ministry, led by senior PKS member Suswono. Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring and Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Al Jufri were also reportedly instructed to collect Rp 500 billion each.
Yudi has also been named a suspect in an embezzlement case involving two banks in West Java.
"We are wondering why the commission has moved so quickly when it comes to the PKS. They haven't really followed up with other politicians who were also mentioned in indictments," Assegaf said.
Last week, the KPK's prosecutors indicted Luthfi, who is also a former member of the House, for allegedly lobbying Agriculture Minister Suswono, also a PKS member, to raise the overall beef import quota for PT Indoguna Utama.
Prosecutors also charged Luthfi with money laundering, which he allegedly committed in 2003 and 2007. The prosecutors, however, did not provide details on the alleged sources of the dubious assets in the indictment.
"This is very vague. They have accused Luthfi of money laundering but they were not able to provide details on what constitutes the crime," Assegaf said. Article 2 of Law No. 8/2010 on money laundering stipulates that a money laundering case should be directly linked to the predicate crime.
Luthfi's lawyers also objected to the way Luthfi has been treated in the case. "When they arrested Luthfi and took him to KPK headquarters, they didn't allow him to be accompanied by a lawyer," Assegaf added.
In another trial involving PT Indoguna Utama directors Arya Abdi Effendy and Juard Effendi, judges found the two defendants guilty of bribing Luthfi. The panel of judges sentenced Arya and Juard to two years and three months in prison for paying Luthfi Rp 1.3 billion in bribes.
The judges also found evidence that proved Luthfi did indeed help the company attain an overall import quota increase.
"In a meeting on Dec. 29, 2012, Ahmad Fathanah met with Maria [Elizabeth Liman, president director of Indoguna] and Elda [Devianne Adiningrat, a broker in the case] and he reiterated Luthfi's willingness to help Indoguna based on what had earlier been agreed on during the Lembang meeting," one of the three judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Amin Sutikno, said in Arya and Juard's verdict. (koi)