Firli Bahuri Admits Meeting SYL In Badminton Field But Crowded

KPK Chairman Firli Bahuri (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Firli Bahuri admitted that he met former Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Syahrul Yasin Limpo in the badminton field. However, the meeting was attended by other parties.

This was conveyed by Firli in response to a photo of his meeting with Syahrul which was busy on social media. He said the meeting took place on March 2, 2022.

"That's also a crowd in the open," Firli told reporters in a written statement, Monday, October 9.

Firli also felt that there was nothing wrong with the meeting. This is because the two met before the alleged corruption at the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) was investigated.

"The case at the Ministry of Agriculture has begun to enter the investigation stage by the KPK in around January 2023," he said.

"So at that time Syahrul Yasin Limpo's brother was not a suspect, the defendant, the convict or the litigant at the KPK," continued Firli.

After all, Firli said the meeting was not initiated by him. "These accusations are not true," said the retired Bhayangkara Corps.

Previously, photos of Firli and Syahrul allegedly meeting circulated amid investigations into alleged corruption at the Ministry of Agriculture. It is not clear when the meeting was held by the two of them at 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 also 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).