"Sentenced the defendant Syahrul Yasin Limpo for 12 years imprisonment, reduced the detention and a fine of Rp500 million, subsidiary to six months' imprisonment while ordering the defendant to remain in detention," Meyer Simanjuntak said at the Corruption Crime Court of the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday.
SYL will also be required to pay compensation amounting to Rp44,269,777,204 (US$2.6 million) and an additional US$30 thousand, minus the amount of money confiscated in the case.
According to the prosecutor, SYL was proven guilty of violating Article 12, letter e, in conjunction with Article 18 of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption Crimes in conjunction with Article 55, paragraph (1), 1st of the Criminal Code (KUHP) in conjunction with Article 64, paragraph (1), of the Criminal Code.
In charging SYL, the prosecutor considered aggravating factors, namely that he gave convoluted answers and his actions as minister damaged the trust of the Indonesian people.
"The defendant did not support the government's program to eradicate criminal acts of corruption and the criminal acts of corruption were carried out by the defendant with greedy motives," the prosecutor said.
SYL was charged with extortion and receiving gratuities totaling Rp44.5 billion (US$2,6 million) while serving as agriculture minister in 2020–2023.
The extortion was carried out together with the secretary general of the Ministry of Agriculture for the 2021–2023 period, Kasdi Subagyono, and the ministry's director of agricultural equipment and machinery for the 2023 period, Muhammad Hatta. Both of them were also named as defendants in the case.
As per the indictment, SYL asked Subagyono and Hatta to act as coordinators for collecting money from echelon I officials at the Ministry of Agriculture and their staff.
SYL also collected and ordered his subordinates to collect money from echelon I officials within the ministry for the personal interests of his family.
SYL claimed that 20 percent of the budget allocation for each secretariat, directorate, and agency at the Ministry of Agriculture had to be given to him.
He then told his ranks that if echelon I officials were unable to fulfill this request, their positions would be in danger and they could be transferred or made "non-job" by SYL. Officials not in favor of SYL would also be asked to resign.
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Related news: Anti-graft body detains former agriculture minister Limpo
Translator: Fath Putra Mulya, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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