Firli Claims His Meeting With SYL Before The KPK Investigates Allegations Of Ministry Of Agriculture Corruption

KPK Chairman Firli Bahuri met Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Firli Bahuri confirmed that he met with former Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Syahrul Yasin Limpo. However, the meeting took place before the investigation into allegations of corruption at the Ministry of Agriculture was carried out.

This was conveyed by Firli in response to his photo and Syahrul which were widely circulated. He admitted that the meeting at the sports arena was before the investigation began at the beginning of the year.

"The case at the Ministry of Agriculture has begun to enter the investigation stage by the KPK in around January 2023," Firli told reporters in a written statement, Monday, October 9.

Meanwhile, Firli and Syahrul met on March 2, 2022. "That was also a crowd in the open," he said.

With that time, Firli said that Syahrul was not a litigant because his case had not been handled. Thus, the accusations that he blackmailed the NasDem politician were not true.

"The incident was not at my initiation or invitation," he said.

Previously, photos of Firli and Syahrul allegedly meeting circulated amid investigations into alleged corruption at the Ministry of Agriculture. It is not clear when the meeting was held by the two of them at a badminton sports arena (gor).

In the photo, Firli is seen wearing a dark sports shirt with white accents and black shorts and sports shoes. Meanwhile, Syahrul was seen wearing a shirt and jeans.

They sat on a long bench and seemed to be talking. Syahrul looked back at the camera.

In addition to this photo, there is also a chronology circulating about the meeting between Firli and Syahrul in a sports gor. Journalists received the document via text message on Thursday, October 5 but its origin is unknown.

In the document, the meeting between Firli and Syahrul was said to have taken place in December 2022. The meeting resulted in the provision of Rp1 billion in Singapore dollar denominations.

As for the cases handled by the KPK, Syahrul was entangled along with two of his subordinates. They are the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture Kasdi Subagyono and the Director of Agricultural Equipment of the Ministry of Agriculture Muhammad Hatta.

The KPK revealed that three corruption clusters were handled, namely extortion related to positions, gratuities, and money laundering (TPPU).