Ilham Habibie Says Ridwan Kamil's Money To Buy A Mercedes Benz S280 SL Has Been Handed Over To The KPK

Ilham Akbar Habibie answered the KPK's summons today, Tuesday 30 September. (Tsa Tsia-VOI)

JAKARTA - The son of the 3rd President of the Republic of Indonesia B. J. Habibie, Ilham Akbar Habibie, has handed over the money paid by former West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil when he bought the Mercedes Benz 280 SL to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

This confession was conveyed by Ilham after fulfilling the summons from the anti-corruption commission today, September 30. He was only examined for about 30 minutes from 14.00 WIB until 14.30 WIB at the KPK's Merah Putih building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta.

"So a few, two weeks ago I handed over the money to the KPK which was in accordance with their request," Ilham told reporters at the location.

Ilham said the handover of the money was so that his father's classic car could be returned after being bought by Ridwan Kamil but was not paid.

Furthermore, Ilham agreed that the inspection was running quickly because he was only asked to sign an official report regarding the return of the car. The vehicle in the name of B. J. Habibie is said to be returned this week.

"Furthermore, there is a car return process to our side," he said.

The buying and selling process occurred in 2021 and began when Ridwan Kamil saw the vehicle collected by B.J. Habibie. The Golkar Party politician then bid for Habibie's 280 SL Mercedes Benz and agreed on a selling value of Rp. 2.6 billion.

The sedan was sold by the family because it was to take care of the other collection of B.J. Habibie cars. In addition, there was a similar car so the agreement was made.

Later, Ridwan Kamil has only paid Rp1.3 billion or half. This condition made Ilham Habibie cancel the buying and selling process and ready to return the money.

However, the Mercy Pagoda turned out to be in a workshop and the workshop did not want to spend it because Ridwan Kamil had not paid the cost of restoration. The KPK also immediately confiscated the car.

The confiscation was carried out because it was suspected that the purchase was using Bank BJB non-budgeter funds. This money comes from the difference in paying for advertising procurement which is then returned by the tender winning company and managed by the corporate secretary (corsec).

In the course of this case, investigators continue to explore where these non-budgeters are flowing. A number of parties have been investigated, including the celebrity Lisa Mariana, who is suspected of having been close to Ridwan Kamil.

Then the KPK has confiscated a number of vehicles allegedly owned by former West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil. Including, a Royal Enfield motorbike that is now in the KPK Confiscated Goods Storage House (Rupbasan), Cawang, East Jakarta.

Previously reported, the KPK has named five suspects in connection with allegations of corruption in the procurement of advertisements at PT Bank Pembangunan Daerah Jawa Barat and Banten Tbk or Bank BJB (BJBR).

They are former President Director of Bank BJB Yuddy Renaldi; Head of Bank BJB Corporate Secretary Division Widi Hartoto; Agency Controller Antedja Muliatama and Cakrawala Kreasi Mandiri Kin Asikin Dulmanan; Agency Controller BSC Advertising and PT Wahana Semesta Bandung Ekspres (WSBE) Suhendrik; and Controller of PT Cipta Karya Sukses Bersama (CKSB) and PT Cipta Karya Mandiri Bersama (CKMB) Raden Sophan Jaya Kusuma.

This case investigation warrant (sprindik) was issued on February 27, 2025. The actions of the five suspects are suspected of having caused the state to lose up to Rp22 billion.

Currently, the detention has not been carried out on five suspects. However, they have been prevented from traveling abroad for six months and can be extended according to the needs of the investigation.