Who Is Emirsyah Satar, The Corruption Suspect At Garuda Indonesia Who Was Once The Deputy Director Of Danamon

Emirsyah Satar. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The name of the former President Director of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk Emirsyah Satar has reappeared and is being widely discussed. This was after Emir, as he is familiarly called, was named a corruption suspect at the state-owned airline.

Before becoming a suspect, the Attorney General's Office conducted an investigation into the alleged corruption case of leasing the ATR 72-600 aircraft at PT Garuda Indonesia. Attorney General ST Burhanuddin said that the lease of the ATR 72-600 was carried out in the era of Emirsyah Satar.

Emirsyah himself is currently languishing in the Sukamiskin Prison. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison for accepting bribes related to the procurement and maintenance of Garuda aircraft.

So who exactly is the figure of Emirsyah Satar? The man who was born on June 28, 1956, completed his undergraduate education at the Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia (FEUI).

Early in his career, Emirsyah was an auditor at the accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers in 1983. Emir entered the banking world as Assistant of Vice President of Corporate Banking Group at Citibank.

Then in 2003 - 2005 he was appointed as Deputy President Director of PT Bank Danamon Indonesia Tbk. Emir has also served as President Director of PT Niaga Factoring Corporation.

Prior to serving as President Director of PT Garuda Indonesia, Emirsyah served as Finance Director of PT Garuda Indonesia in 2003. Satar began to assume the position of President Director on March 22, 2005. On December 8, 2014, Emirsyah resigned from his position as President Director of Garuda Indonesia.

Emirsyah's resignation was earlier than scheduled, because his new position ended on March 22, 2015.

Trapped in a Case In 2017, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) conducted an investigation into a corruption case within Garuda. There are three people who have been charged by the KPK for bribery in the procurement of aircraft and aircraft engines at PT Garuda Indonesia and money laundering.

The three people, namely the former President Director of PT Garuda Indonesia, Emirsyah Satar; the founder of PT Mugi Rekso Abadi (MRA) and the Beneficial Owner of Connaught International Pte ltd Soetikno Soedarjo; and former Technical Director of PT Garuda Indonesia, Hadinoto Soedigno. The KPK has also executed Emirsyah to the Sukamiskin Prison on February 3, 2021 after his appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court (MA).

Emirsyah is serving a sentence of 8 years in prison minus the prison term as stated by the Jakarta Corruption Court's decision which was upheld by the decisions of the DKI High Court and the Supreme Court. In addition to corporal punishment for 8 years, Emirsyah Satar is also required to pay a fine of Rp. 1 billion, subsidiary of 3 months in prison and the obligation to pay compensation in the amount of 2,117,315.27 Singapore dollars for 2 years.

The Jakarta Corruption Court stated that Emirsyah was proven to have accepted bribes worth IDR 49.3 billion and money laundering worth around IDR 87.464 billion. Emirsyah was proven to have accepted bribes from Airbus SAS, Rolls-Royce PLC, Avions de Transport Regional (ATR), and Bombardier Inc.

Emirsyah received gifts from Airbus, Rolls-Royce and ATR through Connaught International Pte Ltd and Soetikno Soedarjo's PT Ardhyaparamita Ayuprakarsa. Meanwhile, from Bombardier, it is called through Hollingsworld Management International Ltd Hong Kong and Summerville Pacific Inc.