Today, Judge Will Decide SYL's Fate In The Ministry Of Agriculture Corruption Case

JAKARTA - Former Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Syahrul Yasin Limpo or SYL will undergo a trial for the verdict or verdict for the alleged extortion and acceptance of gratuities within the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan).

Not only SYL, the other two defendants, namely, former Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture Kasdi Subagyono and former Director of Agricultural Equipment and Machinery Muhammad Hatta will also face a verdict reading trial.

"We have initiated the reading of the verdict on Thursday, July 11, 2024," said Chief Judge Rianto Adam Pontoh at the trial Tuesday, July 9.

While on different occasions, SYL had time to speak about before the verdict reading trial. The former Minister of Agriculture only asked for support and prayers so that the panel of judges would give the best decision.

"Please pray, thank you very much, please pray. With the legal advisor, I can't speak," said SYL

In the case of extortion and gratification, Syahrul Yasin Limpo was charged with extortion of up to Rp44.5 billion during the 2020-2023 period.

This action was carried out together with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture Kasdi Subagyono and the Director of Agricultural Equipment and Machinery of the Directorate General of Infrastructure and Facilities of the Ministry of Agriculture Muhammad Hatta.

This money was used for the benefit of Syahrul's wife and family, invited gifts, the NasDem Party, religious events, aircraft charters to Umrah and sacrifices. In addition, he was also charged with receiving gratuities of Rp40.6 billion from January 2020 to October 2023.

With his actions, the prosecutor charged SYL with a 12-year prison sentence and a fine of Rp. 500 million, subsidiary to 6 months in prison. He was also asked to pay compensation of around Rp. 44 billion and US$ 30 thousand.

The claim was made because the prosecutor believed that SYL violated Article 12 letter e in conjunction with Article 18 of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 31 of 1999 concerning Eradication of Corruption in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the 1st Criminal Code (KUHP) in conjunction with Article 64 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code