KPK Arrests Lawyer and Doctor for Obstruction of Justice in Setya Novanto Graft Case
Jakarta. The national antigraft agency arrested a lawyer and a medical doctor late on Friday night (12/01) for obstruction of justice in connection with the corruption case against Setya Novanto, the former speaker of the House of Representatives.
Setya is currently on trial in the Jakarta Corruption Court for alleged embezzlement of $7.3 million from the Rp 5.9 trillion ($443 million) procurement project for national electronic identity cards, or e-KTP, which resulted in Rp 2.3 trillion in state losses.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named Setya's lawyer, Fredrich Yunadi, a suspect for allegedly helping him evade questioning in the graft investigation.
Fredrich was reportedly assisted by Bimanesh Sutarjo, a doctor at Medika Permata Hijau Hospital in South Jakarta, who allegedly provided Setya with false medical records. Bimanesh has also been declared a suspect.
Fredrich, who withdrew from Setya's legal team shortly before the case went to trial late last year, assisted the former speaker to skip KPK questioning sessions on several occasions.
The lawyer himself also eluded questioning by antigraft investigators on Friday after one of his lawyers earlier sent a letter to the KPK, asking for a postponement until a lawyer's association completes its own investigation in the case.
However, investigators arrested Fredrich at a private hospital in South Jakarta on Friday night and took him to the KPK headquarters near the hospital early on Saturday.
He declined reporters' requests for comment upon his arrival at the KPK offices.
The antigraft agency decided to detain Bimanesh on Friday night, following several hours of questioning.
"Our team has succeeded in bringing [Fredrich] in. Further investigation and intensive questioning will be conducted. We will provide more information later on whether he will be detained… B.S., the other suspect in the case, will be detained for an initial 20 days," KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said, referring to Bimanesh by his initials.
However, the KPK decided on Saturday afternoon to detain Fredrich, following 10 hours of questioning.
Fredrich and Bimanesh may face up to 12 years in prison, if convicted.
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