Muhammad Aulia & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Jakarta High Court has upheld the graft conviction against former Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny Gerard Plate and increased the sum of stolen money he has to repay.

Johnny was sentenced to 15 years in prison on November 8 for his involvement in a corruption case related to a government project aimed at developing internet infrastructure in remote regions.

The state incurred a loss of Rp 8 trillion ($510 million) in the graft scandal, according to state auditors.

The district court also ordered Johnny to repay Rp 15.5 billion ($988,000) of the embezzled funds and imposed a fine of Rp 1 billion.

In the latest Jakarta High Court ruling published on the Supreme Court's website on Tuesday, Johnny was ordered to "repay the state Rp 16.1 billion and $10,000". His jail term will remain unchanged.

If he fails to repay the amount in full within a month after his conviction is final and binding, his personal assets will be seized by the state, or else his jail time will be added by another 5 years, the ruling says.

The defendant can still appeal to the Supreme Court as the last legal avenue.

Johnny, 67, is a senior politician from the National Democratic Party (Nasdem). He marked the first active cabinet member to face corruption allegations from the Attorney General's Office before he was later removed from his ministerial job.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/appeal-court-upholds-graft-conviction-against-exminister-johnny-plat