Director General of Customs Allegedly Received Bribe, Purbaya Reveals Waiting for Court Decision

Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa (Antara)

JAKARTA - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa responded to allegations of receiving bribes that dragged the Director General of Customs and Excise, Djaka Budhi Utama.

Meanwhile, the alleged bribe was worth 213,600 Singapore dollars or around Rp. 2.9 billion and was said to be related to the case of importing goods being handled by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the money was allegedly given by John Field, the head of Blueray Cargo to the Director General of Customs and Excise, Djaka Budhi Utama.

Purbaya emphasized that he would not interfere in the ongoing legal process and would wait for the results of the trial before taking further steps, and if the allegations were proven true, then the removal of the post could be carried out.

"If the trial I don't interfere, I just see what the result is. If people accuse it can be, but if it is proven, yes. (To be removed) it should be, if it is proven, yes," he told the media, Thursday, May 21.

He also revealed that he communicates every day with Djaka. "Mr. Djaka communicates with me every day," he said.

However, Purbaya was reluctant to explain whether he had directly asked about the alleged bribe.

"Haha I don't interfere, I just wait for the results of the trial," said Purbaya.

Before leaving the location, Purbaya had stated that he understood the current situation, although he did not explain in more detail regarding the alleged acceptance of bribes.

"But what is clear is that I understand what happened. There is," he said.

Previously, in the hearing of the case of bribery of imported goods in the Customs environment on Wednesday, May 20, the KPK Public Prosecutor (JPU) revealed the existence of an envelope with the code number 1 which was said to be intended for the Director General of Customs with a value of 213,600 Singapore dollars.

"Our plenary session permits emphasize that Sales 2, 1 is the Director General of Customs and Excise worth 213,600 Singapore dollars. We are the ones who confirmed it, because we have this evidence," said KPK Prosecutor M Takdir Suhan.

Suhan explained that his party had evidence related to the flow of funds and in addition to code 1 envelope, code 2 envelope was said to be intended for the Director of Enforcement and Investigation of DJBC for the period September 2024-January 2026, Rizal.

Meanwhile, envelope code 3 is addressed to the Sub-Directorate of Intelligence of the Directorate of Enforcement and Investigation of the DJBC, Sisprian Subiaksono.

In this case, the KPK charged three Blueray Cargo executives, namely John Field as the company's leader, Deddy Kurniawan Sukolo as the Operations Manager, and Andri as the Head of the Import Documentation Team.

The prosecutor said the three were suspected of giving bribes worth Rp61.3 billion in the form of Singapore dollars. In addition to money, they were also accused of providing various facilities and luxury goods with a total value of Rp1.8 billion.