Former Lawmaker Angelina Sondakh Denies Intimidation in Hambalang Case
Jakarta. Former Democratic Party lawmaker Angelina Sondakh has denied allegations of intimidation made by a witness in the Hambalang Sport Center Project graft case.
Angelina testified in the Central Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday (15/05) in defense of Andi Zulkarnain Anwar, better known as Choel Mallarangeng, the brother of former sports minister Andi Alifian Mallarangeng,
Choel allegedly demanded kickbacks from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which allocated Rp 2.5 trillion ($188 million) towards the construction of the now-abandoned Hambalang Sports Center in Bogor, West Java, in 2010.
The court summoned four new witnesses, including Angelina, Mindo Rosalina Manulang, Dedi Kusdinar and Machfud Suroso.
The allegations of intimidation were made by Lisa Lukitawati Isa, a former secretary for the Hambalang project assistance team, during the previous court session on Monday last week.
She claimed that she was pressured during several project coordination meetings to corner Andi to confirm whether he changed the project budget.
Lisa further alleged that she was forced to give false testimony during Andi's corruption trial in 2014 after receiving threats against her and her family if she testified about this and about several meetings between state officials and lawmakers.
However, Angelina denied the allegations by saying that she was never present at any of the coordination meetings.
Choel was charged with graft and abuse of power, which resulted in Rp 464.30 billion in state losses.
He is accused of having helped Andi secure $839,000 in bribes from a company called Global Daya Manunggal, one of the subcontractors in the project. He reportedly held meetings with other suspects in the case on behalf of his brother.
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