KPK Calls the Boss of a Tobacco Company from Kudus Today in the Customs Case

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has scheduled an examination of Kamal Mustofa as Director of PT Gading Gadjah Mada today. The boss of a homegrown cigarette company from Kudus, East Java, will be questioned as a witness to the case of bribery in the import of goods at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise.

"The examination was carried out at the KPK's Merah Putih building," said KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo to reporters through his written statement, Monday, April 27.

Budi has not detailed whether Kamal Mustofa will be present or not and the examination materials that will be investigated.

However, the KPK has summoned a number of cigarette company bosses after conducting a hand-in-hand operation (OTT) that ensnared a number of parties at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise. This summons is because investigators found documents while searching one of the safe houses to find evidence related to import bribes.

"We analyze it there, several names of cigarette entrepreneurs were found so that we then summoned several cigarette entrepreneurs, including Martinus ... all kinds, Suryo, including Haji Her," Taufik told reporters at the KPK Red and White building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, Monday, April 13.

Taufik said this document was a record from one of the suspects, namely Orlando Hamonangan (ORL) as Head of the Intelligence Section of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Kasi Intel DJBC).

"Well, we need to map and identify the documents found from the search results," he said.

"To what extent it will support and prove later, the sufficiency of the acceptance of bribes made by customs officials, including when there are indeed other parties from cigarette entrepreneurs outside the suspects that we are doing now," continued Taufik.

In the future, the KPK will also consider re-summoning the cigarette entrepreneurs who did not appear at the KPK's summons. If they do not appear again, the pick-up can be carried out according to the new KUHAP.

"So the second call was directly with the order to bring us to do an on-site inspection or indeed we brought it to the office," he said.

The KPK previously suspected that there were cigarette manufacturers who gave bribes to the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) to circumvent taxes from the Java Island region. The findings were revealed after Budiman Bayu Prasojo as Head of the P2 Tax Intelligence Section of the DJBC was named a suspect and detained on Friday, February 27.

This determination is an expansion of the hand-in-hand operation (OTT) on February 4. At that time, six suspects were announced, one of which was the Director of Enforcement and Investigation of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (P2 DJBC) for the period 2024-2026, Rizal.

Then, it was also determined as a suspect, namely Sisprian Subiaksono (SIS) as Head of the Sub Directorate of Intelligence, Enforcement and Investigation of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Kasubdit Intel P2 DJBC); Orlando Hamonangan (ORL) as Head of the Intelligence Section of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Kasi Intel DJBC); John Field (JF) as owner of PT Blueray (BR); Andri as Head of the Import Documents Team of PT BR; and Dedy Kurniawan as Operational Manager of PT BR.

"Currently, some of them are from Central Java and there are also East Java," said KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo to reporters at the KPK Red and White building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, Monday, March 2.

These cigarette entrepreneurs are suspected of buying tax tape at a lower rate in large quantities. In fact, there is a difference in tariffs for the results of manual home industry products and using machines.