Nurdin Abdullah Denies Receiving Bribery, KPK: It Is Common And We Have Evidence

KPK Building (Wardhany Tsa Tsia/VOI)

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) does not care about Nurdin Abdullah's rebuttal, saying that he does not accept bribes. For the KPK, this is common in the handling of corruption cases.

"The suspect denies this is normal and that is the right of the person concerned," said Acting KPK spokesman Ali Fikri to reporters, Sunday, February 28.

So far, said Ali, in determining suspects, KPK investigators have referred to the evidence that has been pocketed. So, believe that Nurdin Abdullah has committed a criminal act.

"We emphasize that the Corruption Eradication Commission has strong evidence according to the law regarding the alleged corruption crime referred to," said Ali.

On the other hand, Ali also appealed to all parties who would later be summoned to undergo an examination to be cooperative. So, the handling of this case will run quickly.

"We hope that the suspects and other parties that we will summon and examine in this case are cooperative in explaining the real facts they know before investigators," he said.

For information, Nurdin Abdullah was named a suspect in the case of alleged bribery and gratuities related to the procurement of goods and services, licensing, and infrastructure development in the South Sulawesi Provincial Government for the 2020-2021 Budget Year.

Nurdin was named a suspect with the Secretary of the Public Works and Housing PUPR (Office) of South Sulawesi Province, Edy Rahmat. Meanwhile, the Director of PT. Agung Perdana Bulukumba (APB) Agung Sucipto was named a suspect in giving bribes.

Nurdin is suspected of accepting bribes and gratuities with a total value of IDR 5.4 billion related to projects within the South Sulawesi Provincial Government.

In addition, Nurdin is suspected of receiving a bribe of IDR 2 billion from Agung through Edy. The bribe was given so that Agung could return to work on the project in South Sulawesi for the 2021 budget year.