Benur Bribery Case, KPK Opens Opportunity To Examine KKP Secretary General Antam Novambar

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) opens the opportunity to summon and examine the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Antam Novambar, regarding the bribery case for the export of fries or lobster seeds.

This summoning and examination could have been carried out, because Antam received an order from the former Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Edhy Prabowo, to make a written order to collect IDR 52.3 billion to withdraw bank guarantees.

"He (KKP Secretary-General, Antam Novambar, ed) received an order from the EP (Edhy Prabowo) suspect to make a written order," said Acting KPK spokesman for Enforcement, Ali Fikri, to reporters at the KPK's Merah Putih Building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, Thursday, March 15th.

Even so, Ali has not confirmed when the KPK investigator will summon the former Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigation. Because, his party will still see developments related to the case that ensnared Edhy and a number of his subordinates in the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.

"We will see the development first. Because the most important thing is that the money has been confiscated and will be confirmed to the witnesses. The witness that will be summoned to confirm and this evidence will be conveyed further," he explained.

Previously reported, the KPK had confiscated around IDR 52.3 billion in cash. This money was confiscated because it was suspected of coming from exporters of shrimp fries or lobster seeds that had received permission from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

In this case, the KPK suspects Edhy Prabowo as the former Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries ordered the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Antam Novambar, to make a written order.

Ali said this letter was related to the withdrawal of bank guarantees from exporters to the Head of the Fish Quarantine, Quality Control, and Fishery Product Safety Agency (BKIPM). "Furthermore, the Head of BKIPM ordered the Head of the Soekarno Hatta Jakarta Large Quarantine Office to accept the Bank Guarantee," said Ali.

It's just that, later it was discovered, the rules for submitting bank guarantees as a form of commitment to the implementation of the lobster clear seed export allegedly never existed.

As for this bribery case, Edhy Prabowo was named a suspect in receiving bribes along with five other people, namely: Special Staff of KKP Minister Safri (SAF) and Andreau Pribadi Misanta (APM); Management of PT. Aero Citra Kargo (PT. ACK) Siswadi (SWD); The staff of the wife of the Minister of KKP, Ainul Faqih, and Amiril Mukminin (AM).

Meanwhile, the giver of the bribe was the Director of PT. Dua Putra Perkasa Pratama (PT. DPPP) Suharjito (SJT).

Edhy was named a suspect because he was suspected of accepting bribes from companies that had been issued a lobster seed export license using a forwarder company and were kept in one account up to IDR 9.8 billion.

Furthermore, on November 5, 2020, Ahmad Bahtiar transferred IDR 3.4 billion to the staff account of Edhy's wife, Ainul, which was earmarked for the needs of Edhy, his wife Iis Rosyati Dewi, Safri, and Andreau.

This money is used for shopping for luxury goods by Edhy and his wife in Honolulu, USA on November 21 to 23, 2020, amounting to around IDR 750 million, including Rolex watches, Tumi, and LV bags, road bikes, and Old Navy clothes.

In addition, around May 2020, Edhy was also suspected of receiving 100 thousand US dollars from Suharjito through Safri and Amiril.