Jakarta – National anti-graft agency KPK said on Tuesday (21/03) it will further investigate a tax evasion case to which the names of two deputy speakers of the House of Representatives, Fahri Hamzah and Fadli Zon, have been linked.
The Corruption Eradication Commission said the names of celebrity singer Fatimah Syahrini Jaelani, better known as Syahrini, and lawyer Eggi Sudjana, were also mentioned during a trial in the case.
These individuals' names were mentioned in court on Tuesday during a trial for export company E.K. Prima's country director Ramapanicker Rajamohanan Nair, who was charged with bribing Handang Soekarno, a former senior official at the Finance Ministry's Tax Directorate General, in an attempt to dodge paying back taxes.
"We already have two suspects in the case, R.N.N. [Ramapaniker Rajamohanan Nair] who's currently on trial, and H.S. [Handang Soekarno] who's still under investigation," KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said.
During the trial at the Corruption Court in Jakarta, the names of the two House deputy speakers as well as Syahrini and Eggi were mentioned in a document seized during a raid at Handang's residence and on wiretap records of his messaging app, WhatsApp.
"We have on record a [series of] WA [WhatsApp] chats between Handang and Andreas Setiawan [tax director general Ken Dwijugiasteadi's aide] on Nov. 7, 2016, mentioning the names of Eggi Sudjana, Fadli Zon, Fahri Hamzah and Syahrini. How are they connected to this case?" KPK prosecutor Moh. Takdir Suhan asked in the courtroom.
Handang replied from the witness stand that he did not remember having mentioned their names. However, he then changed his statement, saying "Syahrini does have [tax problems]. They're still being investigated."
Handang said that Fahri, Fadli and Syahrini were signed up to the government's tax amnesty program to set an example for other politicians and artists.
Fadli has denied that he had avoided paying taxes and claimed he did not know the suspects or witnesses in the case.
Fadli suspected he and Fahri were implicated in the case for their involvement in the massive – and at times violent – street rally on Nov. 4, 2016, against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama.
The case has also implicated President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's brother-in-law, Arif Budi Sulistyo, who works as an operational director for Rakabu Sejahtera, a furniture company.
His name has been mentioned several times in the case as a liaison and business partner of the suspect, Ramapaniker.
KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah told local news outlet Kompas.com that Arif allegedly knows the chairman of the Jakarta tax office Muhammad Haniv. He has also reportedly held a meeting with tax director general Ken Dwijugiasteadi to discuss E.K. Prima's tax problems.