Not Gratification, Former KPK Investigator Values Kuansing Regent's Envelope to Raja Juli as a Character of Bribery 

JAKARTA - Former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Praswad Nugraha assessed the provision of an envelope from the non-active Regent of Kuantan Singingi (Kuansing) Suhardiman Amby to the Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni was not gratification.

The characteristics of the envelope are called Praswad more suitable as a bribe. Because his suspicion is still related to the management of forest area release, his authority is at the Ministry of Forestry.

"There is a clear relationship between the provision of money and the request for forest land release that is being processed. Therefore, the event cannot be seen as ordinary gratification, but has the characteristics of bribery because there is a background and purpose of the provision," Praswad told reporters through a written statement quoted on Thursday, July 9.

Praswad explained that the return of money to the grantor does not immediately remove the suspicion of corruption if from the beginning the grant is related to certain interests.

He also questioned the time of reporting that Raja Juli made after the KPK carried out a hand-in-hand operation (OTT) against Suhardiman Amby.

According to Praswad, the gratification reporting mechanism requires the recipient to hand over goods or money to the KPK for analysis. Therefore, reporting becomes irrelevant if the object received has already been returned to the giver.

"If an event has indications and handling processes as a bribery crime, then the gratification reporting mechanism cannot be used to eliminate or change the nature of the case," said Praswad.

Praswad reminded that gratification reporting should not be used as an instrument to change the alleged bribe into a gratification case only. According to him, law enforcement officers need to immediately determine the legal status of all parties involved based on the evidence obtained.

Meanwhile, Raja Juli admitted that the Regent of Kuansing Suhardiman Amby had left a sealed envelope after an audience at the Ministry of Forestry on June 2, 2026.

He then ordered his aide to return the envelope on June 5, 2026. However, the plan was delayed because his aide had to accompany him in the agenda of the service.

Furthermore, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Forestry then issued a letter of assignment to his aide on June 11, 2026. In addition, Raja Juli admitted that he contacted the Riau Police Chief to help bring his aide and the Regent of Kuansing together.

The return of the envelope, he claimed, was made on June 12, 2026 at the Kuantan Singingi Police and was documented and accompanied by a receipt. Raja Juli has also reported the envelope as gratification which was rejected a few days after the hand capture operation (OTT) was carried out.

As previously reported, the KPK named three people as suspects in the alleged bribery of the filling of the Kuansing Regent's post after conducting a hand-in-hand operation (OTT) on Monday, June 29. They are Kuansing Regent Suhardiman Amby, Kuansing Regent Zulkarnain, and Ardiles as President Director of PT Mitra Ideal Consultant.

In the construction of the case, Suhardiman allegedly asked for one unit of Toyota Land Cruiser 300 GR-S worth around Rp2.05 billion to the participants of the selection for the position of the Regional Secretary.

The request was fulfilled by Zulkarnain who bought the vehicle through a credit scheme using Ardiles' identity for financing applications.

In addition, the KPK also found other alleged receipts made by Suhardiman related to the process of releasing Limited Production Forest (HPT) areas. Investigators are said to be tracing the amount of receipts, the mechanism of giving to the party suspected of receiving at the Ministry of Forestry.