About To Return To Indonesia, IDR 78 Trillion Corruption Suspect Surya Darmadi Asks For The Ban To Be Revoked

Illustration - Passport of the Directorate General of Immigration (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The suspect in the alleged criminal act of corruption in the land grabbing of PT Duta Palma who was also declared a fugitive, Surya Darmadi asked for the ban against him to be lifted.

The ban was determined by the Directorate General of Immigration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights at the request of the Attorney General's Office. The ban is valid for six months until February 11, 2023.

The request for the revocation of the ban was submitted by Surya Darmadi's attorney, Juniver Girsang. Juniver said that the lifting of the ban was so that Surya would not be hindered when he returned to Indonesia.

Considering that currently Surya is abroad and plans to return to Indonesia on Monday, August 15 to undergo the legal process that ensnared him.

"We, as parties who have tried to convince Surya Darmadi to cooperate with the legal process in Indonesia, request that Surya Darmadi's banned status be revoked so that he is not prevented from entering the Indonesian jurisdiction to follow the legal process at the KPK and the Indonesian Attorney General's Office," said Juniver in his caption, Sunday, August 14.

Juniver also said that the family did not accept that Surya was suspected of committing an unlawful act just because he did not attend the summons previously issued by the AGO, until he was declared a fugitive.

In fact, Surya has sent a letter to Jasa Agung stating that he is sick and confirming that he will be ready to follow the legal process despite his condition

"To all parties, we appeal to respect the legal process and continue to respect the principle of our client's presumption of innocence by refraining from judging Surya Darmadi with opinions that are disproportionate and tend not to be based on facts," he explained.

As is known, the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes at the AGO, Febrie Adriansyah, said that his party would process Surya Darmadi in absentia. The effort was made because until now investigators have not been able to bring Surya Darmadi.

Surya Darmadi is the owner of the Duta Palma Group, which was named a suspect in the corruption case of oil palm land tenure because it cost the state Rp78 trillion. Apart from Surya Darmadi, former Indragiri Hulu Regent Raja Thamsir Rahman (RTR) was also named a suspect.

The head of the Attorney General's Office for Legal Information, Ketut Sumedana, previously said that the investigation team had summoned Surya Darmadi three times. The letter was sent to his residence which is located on Jalan Bukit Gilf Utama PE. 9 Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

Furthermore, a summons was also sent to the Palma Group Duta Office at Palma Tower, 22nd floor at Jalan RA Kartinj III-S Kavling 6, Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta. Finally, to Surya Darmadi's apartment at 21 Nassim Road # 01-18 Nassim Park Residences Singapore.

"And a summons was also announced in the newspaper. The Attorney General's Office assessed that the SD suspect had relinquished his rights in defending in the law enforcement process and will continue to coordinate the search and law enforcement will continue as per the applicable laws and regulations," said Ketut.

As a reminder, the investigation team has named two suspects. They are Surya Darmadi (SD) as the owner of PT Duta Palma Group. Then, Raja Thamsir Rachman (RTS) as the Regent of Indragiri Hulu for the 1999-2008 period.