KPK VS Budi Gunawan: Portrait Of Corruption Suspect Status Falls Via Pretrial

Portrait of Police General Budi Gunawan during a pretrial at the South Jakarta District Court on February 16, 2016. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has a classy image in eradicating corruption in Indonesia. Whoever has become a corruption suspect, the KPK will not release him. Corruptors are always rewarded with prison terms.

The image then collapsed when the KPK named Budi Gunawan as a corruption suspect. Budi, who in fact will be appointed as the National Police Chief, is said to have accepted bribes. Budi took a stand. He tried to fight back. He put forward a trial against the KPK and won.

The KPK was once the spearhead of eradicating corruption in Indonesia. The anti-corruption agency will not release its grip on those who harm the state. The KPK's record is flashy. The KPK has never lost. The KPK continues to dare to investigate and investigate potential corruptors.

The same condition was also present when the KPK targeted Budi Gunawan. This suspicion arose when Budi became Head of the Police PSDM Career Development Bureau for the 2004-2006 period. The police general who is predicted to be the next National Police Chief to replace General Sutarman is considered the KPK not clean.

Budi is suspected of having suspicious transactions in his account. The KPK underlies this suspicion through a report from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) to the National Police Headquarters on March 23, 2010.

Allegations related to suspicious transactions made the KPK move quickly. The KPK immediately moved to research and collect evidence. The effort was carried out for years. At its peak, when the KPK government was led by Abraham Samad.

The movement of the alleged corruption case surfaced in 2013. The KPK was getting more and more enthusiastic when they saw the resummation of the Budi State Administrators Wealth Report (LHKPN) in July 2013. They consider there to be a significant increase.

An investigation was carried out. The KPK then named Budi as a corruption suspect in 2015. The decision shocked the general public. Moreover, Budi's determination was determined by the process to become the National Police Chief. Political smells also accompanied.

The KPK is considered someone who rides it in giving the status of a suspect to Budi. The public also basically supports the KPK's move. However, the KPK case determined Budi to be a big polemic. KPK's existence is at stake.

"After a long investigation, the KPK found more than two pieces of evidence and decided BG as a suspect in receiving the prize when the suspect served as a state administrator," said KPK chairman Abraham Samad in a press statement at the KPK building quoted by the CNN Indonesia website, January 13, 2015.

Budi Gunawan refuses to accept the status of a suspect. His party considers the determination to seem political, and the KPK has no strong evidence. Budi also thought about pretrialing to thwart the status of a corruption suspect pinned by the KPK.

This wish was followed up by choosing the well-known law firm OC Kaligis & Associates as one of its attorneys. The pretrial wish was accepted by the South Jakarta Court. Budi is confident in challenging the KPK.

He considered his determination as a suspect in corruption with legal disabilities. He felt that he had never been questioned at all by the KPK. He also never received the notification and letter alleged by the KPK. Budi was immediately appointed a suspect.

This condition made Budi confident that he would win. Sure enough, Budi won the pretrial on February 16, 2016. Judge Sarpin Rizaldi decided that the determination of Budi Gunawan as a suspect was invalid by the KPK.

The victory brought a stir. Pros and cons emerged from here. There are those who support Budi's steps. There are also those who condemn the pretrial results. They consider the pretrial results to be the mainstay of the corruptors in the future to dodge the KPK's examination.

All of this was because Budi was the first official to successfully thwart the status of a KPK suspect. Budi's move is considered a good strategy so as not to be chased by the KPK.

Budi Gunawan had absolutely no idea about the events alleged by the KPK, which were certain events? What happened? Where and when? If it is related to Budi Gunawan's account, which account? What date?

"Which specific transactions are in Budi Gunawan's account and how many are there? Who gave the prize or bribed Budi Gunawan? This happened because in fact Budi Gunawan had never been questioned by the KPK, from 2004-2006, 2010, 2013 and 2014," said Budi's lawyer, OC Kaligis in the book Antology of Law Writing Volume 11 (2021).