The KPK Council Is Ready To Sanction Leaders Who Are Proven To Extortion SYL

Press conference of the KPK Supervisory Board (Photo: Wardhany T/VOI)

JAKARTA - The Supervisory Board (Dewas) of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is ready to impose sanctions on leaders proven to have blackmailed former Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo. This was conveyed by the Chairman of the KPK Council, Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean, in response to the alleged extortion case by the KPK leadership who was being investigated by the Polda Metro Jaya. He said they are currently looking for evidence. "If it is proven, yes, the ethics will also be affected," Tumpak told reporters quoted on Tuesday, October 10. "This “ Criminal act, if it is true that it happened, has violated ethics as well," he continued. Tumpak said there are a number of sanctions that can be given to the leadership if they are proven to have blackmailed Syahrul. The heaviest, even recommended to quit his position. However, he did not want to make assumptions. This is because the search for the alleged information is still ongoing. "We study it first, we collect as much information as possible," said Tumpak. As previously reported, photos of Firli and Syahrul allegedly meeting circulated amid the investigation into alleged corruption at the Ministry of Agriculture. It is not clear when the meeting was held by the two of them in 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 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).