"The case of Commissioner General Budi Gunawan that has so far been handled by the KPK and has already been declared as illegitimate by the court has been handed over to the prosecutors office, and the office will further refer it to the police for more effective handling as it has been dealt earlier by the police," Attorney General HM Prasetyo stated during a press conference at the KPK Building here on Monday.
HM Prasetyo was accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs Tedjo Edi Purdijatno, Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna H. Laoly, Deputy National Police Chief and also National Police Chief candidate Commissioner General Badrodin Haiti, and five KPK commissioners: Taufiqurrahman Ruki, Johan Budi, Indriyanto Senoadji, Zulkarnain, and Adnan Pandu Praja.
"To make (the case handling) more effective and I, as the Attorney General, would hand over the dossier to the prosecutors office and to the police to be settled as it should be," he remarked while explaining the reason behind the decision.
Prasetyo said that the National Police Headquarters had indeed conducted an investigation with regard to Gunawans disproportionately huge bank accounts in 2010 and the National Polices Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) had found them as appropriate.
"The judge in the pretrial court has ruled that Budi Gunawans naming as a suspect by the KPK is illegitimate, and therefore, his case must be reviewed. The problem is that based on the KPK Law Number 30 of 2002, the anti-graft body is not allowed to stop a case already under investigation while on the other hand, the courts ruling is final and binding, and therefore, must be adhered to and implemented," Prasetyo stated with regard to KPKs position.
As a solution, he remarked that the KPK decided to hand over the case to the prosecutors office.
"Based on the agreement we arrived during a meeting, the KPK would hand over the case of Budi Gunawan to the AGO as it is impossible to stop its investigation. The KPK will hand over the results of its investigation to the AGO with notes that the police seemed to have also conducted an investigation into the same case. We will study it. The Attorney General will study it on how to further handle the case of Budi Gunawan," he revealed.
Prasetyo explained that the objective behind handing over the case to the AGO was to ensure practicality and effectiveness for the KPK, the police, and the AGO.
"So, there must not be any suspicion with regard to it. We believe that if later the prosecutors office refers the case to the police, they will settle it well," he said, adding that the handling of the case at the KPK so far has also not yet been maximal.
"The KPK has also not optimally handled the case so far as no witness has successfully been summoned and questioned," he noted.
The Bareskrim states that Budi Gunawan is clean of allegations of being involved in suspicious financial transactions known as the "fat accounts" case, according to a letter number R/1016/Dit Tipideksus/X/201/Bareskrim.
The letter, dated October 20, 2010, was signed by Bareskrims Special Director Commissioner General Arief Sulistyanto, who is now the regional police commander of West Kalimantan.
The probe was carried out following the result of an investigation into Budi Gunawans accounts carried out by the Center of Financial Transactions Report and Analysis (PPATK).
In 2005, the PPATK found Budi Gunawans son Hervianto (19) receiving loans from PT Pacific Blue worth US$5.9 billion, which were transferred in cash worth Rp57 billion, of which Rp32 billion was transferred to Budi Gunawans account.
Reporting by Desca Liday Natalia
(T.D017/H-YH/INE)
EDITED BY INE/a014.
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
