"With the ongoing process of evidence collection for SYL and his colleagues' case," said Ali Fikri, head of the KPK Publication Department, in Jakarta on Friday, "the investigation team has extended the detention period for each of them for the next 40 days at the KPK Detention Center."
Fikri said that the detention for SYL and Muhammad Hatta will be extended until December 1, 2023, while detention for Kasdi Subagyono will last until December 9, 2023.
SYL and Hatta, the ministry's former director of agricultural equipment and machinery, were officially detained on October 13, 2023, as suspects in an alleged corruption case.
The alleged corruption case began at the start of SYL's term of office for the 2019-2024 period.
He was suspected of issuing illegal regulations on his own, such as implementing levies and receiving deposits from his ranks at the ministry to meet his personal and family needs.
He was also suspected of having assigned Subagyono, who was then the ministry's secretary general of the Ministry of Agriculture, and Hatta to withdraw sums of money from echelon I and echelon II units in the form of cash transfers, bank account transfers, and gifts in the form of goods and services.
Subagyono and Hatta then ordered their subordinates to collect a certain amount of money within echelon I, namely the directors general, heads of agencies, and secretaries of each echelon I, with a predetermined amount of money from SYL, starting from US$4,000 to US$10,000.
KPK stated that the amount of money reached Rp13.9 billion (around US$883,604).
They are suspected of violating the law on the eradication of criminal acts of corruption. SYL was also suspected of violating the law on money laundering crimes.
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Translator: Fianda Sjofjan R, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Anton Santoso
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