Heavy Corruptor Sentenced, Fast Free Traffic: Government Not Serious In Combating Corruption

JAKARTA The conditional release of the convicted corruption case Setya Novanto is considered as a form of the decline in the corruption eradication agenda.

Setya Novanto was officially released from Sukamiskin Prison, West Java, on Saturday (16/8/2025), after obtaining a parole program from the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections (Kemenmimpiras). The conditional release was granted after the Supreme Court (MA) granted a judicial review (PK) proposed by the man who is familiarly called Setnov.

Corruption convicts are inmates who get general remission and decade remission given during the 80th Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia, Sunday (17/8/2025).

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government granted remissions to a total of 372,295 inmates on August 17, 2025. The Director of the Development of Prisoners and Children assisted by the Ministry of Immunity Yulius Sahruzah stated that this remission policy made the state save up to Rp639.11 billion.

However, the conditional release program for convicted corruption cases as found by Setnov drew criticism from anti-corruption activists. Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Wana Alamsyah views Setnov's release as a setback in the corruption eradication agenda.

Setya Novanto was found guilty in the e-KTP corruption case on April 24, 2018. As a result of his actions, the state suffered losses of more than IDR 2.3 trillion.

The former chairman of the DPR and General Chairperson of Golkar were sentenced to 15 years in prison and a fine of Rp. 500 million and the revocation of their political rights for five years. In addition, Setnov is also required to pay compensation of US$ 7.3 million minus Rp. 5 billion which has been deposited with KPK investigators.

The verdict given to Setnov at that time was touted as the heaviest for convicted corruption cases. But in reality, during his criminal term, Setnov received remissions several times, including the celebrations of Eid 2023 and 2024, 30 days each, and on the 78th Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia with 90 days remission.

On June 4, 2025, the Supreme Court sentenced the PK to be reduced from 15 years to 12 years and 6 months. With this reduction, he was declared eligible for parole because he had served two-thirds of his sentence.

Conditional release cases like what Setya Novanto got were not the first time this had happened. The public has actually been treated to similar views many times.

In 2022, shocking news emerged about the release of 23 corruptors, five of whom are big names. They were released from iron bars because of the remission they received from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights on September 6, 2022.

They are former constitutional judges Patrialis Akbar, former Jambi Governor Zumi Zola, former Minister of Religion (deceased) Suryadharma Ali, former Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, and former prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari.

There is also a former Minister of Youth and Sports Imam Nahrawi who was sentenced to seven years in prison in a bribery and KONI grant case. But he was released in 2024 after serving a sentence of approximately four years.

Seeing this phenomenon, the pattern is almost the same. Sentences were handed down, then reduced through legal remedies, shortened through remission, and in the end, corruptors could be released on condition for administrative reasons.

ICW researcher Wana Alamsyah said the handling of corruption cases involving former DPR Speaker Setya Novanto was a bad precedent. He emphasized that law enforcers failed to apply the money laundering article to trace the flow of money resulting from criminal acts of corruption.

The handling of allegations of corruption money laundering offenses in the procurement of e-KTP by the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police against SN is allegedly stalled. Even the KPK, which has a supervisory function of case handling in other law enforcers, failed to accelerate the case," said Wana, in a statement received by VOI.

In addition, the Supreme Court's decision to grant the Setnov PK by prioritizing imprisonment and reducing the period of revocation of political rights, shows that the government is not serious in providing a deterrent effect for perpetrators of corruption.

"Giving a deterrent effect through corporal punishment and additional crimes in the form of revocation of political rights is still very much needed when the Asset Confiscation Bill is still stalled by the government and the DPR," he added.

Meanwhile, Transparency International Indonesia (TII) researcher Alvin Nicola considers Setnov's release to be inseparable from the legal loopholes due to fundamental changes in the rules for granting remissions to corruptors.

In 2021, the Supreme Court canceled Article 34A Paragraph (1) letter (a) of Government Regulation Number 99 of 2012, which previously required corruption convicts to become justice collaborators or cooperate with law enforcement to help uncover criminal acts committed before obtaining remission.

Since then, through Permenkumham No. 7 of 2022, additional requirements for corruptors have received remission in the form of only payment of fines and replacement money. This gap is considered to weaken the deterrent effect for corruptors.

"Although technically legal, the process of reducing penalties through judicial review is considered a gap that allows individuals to have an effect on avoiding full accountability, especially when public explanations about the basis of 'novum' or new evidence are minimal," said Alvin.

According to him, Setnov's release seemed to send a message that high-profile corruptors could be free sooner even though the people still had to bear the state's losses.

"Finally, the message of the deterrent effect of corruption is getting more and more vague and contrary to the spirit that corruption is an extraordinary crime itself," he added.

Conditional release or granting remissions to convicted corruption cases has a very serious impact, according to Alvin. Not only eroded public morale, but the granting of remissions can also weaken public trust in the law, strengthen culture of impunity, and disrupted national economic potential and development.