Nivell Rayda – Several lawyers visited the Corruption Eradication Commission headquarters on Friday, urging it to take over the ongoing police investigation into businessman Anggodo Widjojo, who is believed to be at the core of efforts to undermine the antigraft body.

The National Police are investigating Anggodo for obstruction of justice and defamation of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, after wiretapped conversations – in which the president's name was mentioned several times – allegedly showed he was a key player in a plot to undermine the commission, better known as the KPK.

The commission played 67 wiretapped recordings before the Constitutional Court on Nov. 3, detailing conversations between Anggodo and several law enforcers. The recordings point to an alleged plot to fabricate a case against Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah, two suspended KPK deputies charged with abuse of power and extortion.

More than 10 days after the sensational recordings were made public, the National Police have still not charged the businessman, citing lack of evidence. Instead police launched an investigation based on Anggodo's claim that wiretapping his telephone conversations was illegal.

Petrus Salestinus, a representative of the lawyers who visited the KPK's offices on Friday, said the commission must take over the investigation and arrest Anggodo for attempted bribery and obstructing a KPK investigation into a graft case involving Anggodo's brother, Anggoro Widjojo.

"The police investigation is very slow and not transparent," he said. "There's a sufficient evidence to charge Anggodo with a criminal offense, further backed by the findings of the Team of Eight."

Petrus was referring to the fact-finding team appointed by Yudhoyono to look into the police's handling of Bibit's and Chandra's case. The team last week urged the police to arrest Anggodo but police said he was still a witness.

Petrus highlighted another conclusion of the fact-finding team, that police had no hard evidence to name the two KPK deputies as suspects. "Why were Bibit and Chandra prematurely charged? And Anggodo not charged despite overwhelming evidence?" he said.