Bambang Widjojanto Still Believes Mardani Maming Is Innocent Even Though He Is No Longer A Lawyer

Bambang Widjojanto believes his former client, former Tanah Bumbu Regent, Mardani H. Maming, is innocent. (Antaranews)

JAKARTA - Bambang Widjojanto believes his former client, former Tanah Bumbu Regent Mardani H. Maming, is innocent. The former deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission hopes that the facts behind the alleged bribery and gratification that ensnared Mardani can be uncovered soon.

"Hopefully the real facts will be exposed," Bambang told reporters quoted on Thursday, August 4.

Bambang believes that Mardani is a victim of criminalization that ends in harm. Because, this case is actually related to business transactions.

"This underlying is a business transaction. Business competition cannot be criminalized because it will undermine trust," he said.

Furthermore, the former Governor's Team for the Acceleration of Development (TGUPP) of DKI Jakarta said he believed that Mardani's new attorney would be maximal in defending his client. So, in the future, Mardani can be found not guilty.

Meanwhile, when mentioned about him being no longer Mardani's attorney, Bambang said that the agreement was only for pretrial matters.

The pretrial was filed at the South Jakarta District Court (PN) some time ago. This proposal was submitted by the Mardani camp after he was named a suspect.

As a result, after Mardani was officially named a suspect by the KPK and detained, he and former Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights, Denny Indrayana, were no longer involved.

"From the start, I was only committed to being a lawyer in the pretrial. That's why in the authorization letter for the previous examination, my name was not there," he said.

Previously, a lawyer named Abdul Qodir admitted that he is now Mardani's attorney. He said that they were sent by the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU) and the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi) to provide legal assistance.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named Mardani a suspect in the alleged bribery and gratification of a mining business permit in Tanah Bumbu Regency. He was named the suspect as the recipient, while the giver, Hendry Soetio, who was the controller of PT Prolindo Cipta Nusantara (PCN) had died.

Even though he died, the KPK confirmed that investigators had received evidence related to Mardani's acceptance. He is believed to have earned money from Hendry from 2014 to 2020.

The amount of money that Mardani received through his trusted people and his company reached Rp104.3 billion.