JAKARTA - The former Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Edhy Prabowo, who was caught in a bribery case related to the export of lobster fries or seeds, admitted renting out apartments for two badminton players Keysa Maulitta Putri and Debby Susanto in Kalibata City.
Edhy said that after being questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Wednesday, February 3. However, the money used to rent the apartment, he said, did not come from bribes. Because this happened before he served as minister of the KKP.
"I gave an apartment, as for Keysa and Debby I rented an apartment in Kalibata City for a long time since 2010 when I got to know her," he said at the KPK's Merah Putih Building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta.
Edhy denied giving this apartment because he had a special relationship with the two athletes. This apartment is given to support their careers.
Edhy got to know the two badminton athletes when they finished undergoing national training. He considered these two athletes to have potential.
"At the time I got to know her because she had just finished national training with badminton and had good potential," he said.
The athlete denied
Debby denied Edhy's statement. By uploading a video on her Instagram account @debbysusanto, she admitted that she didn't know Edhy Prabowo. Debby also felt that she had never received anything from Edhy, including the apartment unit in Kalibata City.
"I have never known him, I have never met Mr. Edhy Prabowo in person. Second, I have never received anything from Mr. Edhy Prabowo, including the apartment unit which is mentioned that I received in 2010," she said as quoted from the video.
She considered this information very detrimental and asked that this information should not be shared.
"This is defamation, to me and my family. I myself do not know why my name was brought up in this case," she said.
Debby is currently looking for an initial source that makes her name to be brought up in this case. "We are still making sure of what source mentioning my name," she said.
"I want my colleagues from the media to clear my name from this case. Besides it has nothing to do with me, I feel this is very disturbing to my privacy and also my family," she added.
KPK will investigate
The KPK will explore the sources of money to rent apartments for two badminton athletes mentioned by Edhy.
"The flow of funds and their use will continue to be explored," Acting KPK spokesman Ali Fikri told reporters.
The KPK will also summon all parties named by Edhy Prabowo for questioning because they are suspected of knowing the case.
"In principle, other parties who - according to witnesses that have been examined in this case - suspected of knowing the events and series of actions of the suspects, will certainly be further confirmed," said Ali.
In the case of the export bribery of shrimp fry or lobster seeds, Edhy Prabowo was named a suspect in receiving bribes along with five other people, namely: Special Staff of Minister of KKP Safri (SAF) and Andreau Pribadi Misanta (APM); Management of PT. Aero Citra Kargo (PT. ACK) Siswadi (SWD); The staff of the wife of the Minister of KKP, Ainul Faqih, and Amiril Mukminin (AM).
Meanwhile, the giver of the bribe was the Director of PT. Dua Putra Perkasa Pratama (PT. DPPP) Suharjito (SJT).
Edhy was named a suspect because he was suspected of accepting bribes from companies that had been issued a lobster seed export license using a forwarder company and were kept in one account up to IDR 9.8 billion.
The money that goes to the account of PT. ACK, which is currently the sole cargo service provider for the export of lobster seeds, is then withdrawn to the accounts of PT. ACK holders, namely Ahmad Bahtiar and Amri, for a total of IDR 9.8 billion.
In addition, around May 2020, Edhy was also suspected of receiving 100 thousand US dollars from Suharjito through Safri and Amiril. Furthermore, on November 5, 2020, Ahmad Bahtiar transferred IDR 3.4 billion to the staff account of Edhy's wife, Ainul, which was allocated for the needs of Edhy, his wife Iis Rosyati Dewi, Safri, and Andreau.
This money is used for shopping of luxury goods by Edhy and his wife in Honolulu, USA from November 21 to 23, 2020, amounting to around IDR 750 million, including Rolex watches, Tumi, and LV bags, road bikes, and Old Navy clothes.
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