Report Johanis Tanak To The KPK Council, ICW Admits Bringing This Evidence

Head of ICW Legal Division Lalola Easter with members visited the KPK building, Tuesday 18 April (Tsa Tsia/VOI)

JAKARTA - Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) officially reported Deputy Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Johanis Tanak to the Supervisory Board today, Tuesday, April 18.

Head of ICW Legal Division Lalola Easter said there were two things reported, namely the conversation between Johanis and Plh Director General of Mineral and Coal Idris Froyoto Sihite and the potential to cause conflicts of interest. A number of evidences were attached including the conversation between the two which went viral on social media.

"That's right (the evidence brought to screen the viral conversation on social media, ed)," Lalola told reporters at the ACLC KPK Building, Rasuna Said, South Jakarta, Tuesday, April 18.

Lalola felt that the evidence deserved to be attached to the report because Johanis did not deny it. "It shows that the conversation did happen," he said.

As previously reported, the photo containing a conversation between Johanis Tanak and Plh, Director General of Mineral and Coal, Idris Sihete, was in the spotlight after being uploaded to an anonymous Twitter account, @dimdim0783. There are several screenshots, one of which is discussing work and there is the phrase 'behind the screen'.

Not only that, this account also revealed that there was a discussion about the Mining Business License (IUP). Responding to this, Johanis Tanak said the conversation took place before he was appointed as a leader.

He admitted that he was already friends with Idris when he was still together at the Prosecutor's Office. Johanis also admitted that he did not know that his interlocutor had become the Acting Director General of Mineral and Coal because previously he served as Head of Legal Bureau at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

"I contacted him because I was just before retirement, how many months left for me to retire. If I continue to retire, what should I do, so how can there be new activities," said Tanak when contacted by VOI, Wednesday, April 12 evening.

Tanak also explained the intention of playing behind the scenes as stated in the message circulating. It has nothing to do with the KPK.

"That I have no other intention behind the scenes because I am active at the prosecutor's office in a few months and retire, so I can have activities when I retire,"

"That's why I said, who knows Pak Idris has a job that I can do. I will leave it to my friends. I will help correct the agreement related to business law. The concept of a private company's agreement or advice," said Tanak.

As for the conversation that discussed the IUP, Johanis suspected that engineering had occurred. He felt he had never been in touch with Idris on February 24.

Even if there is a discussion regarding the IUP, he said it is not related to the ongoing case at the KPK. "I swear, I didn't know that he was already the Acting Director General whom I knew was the Head of the Legal Bureau of Energy and Mineral Resources," he said.

"Even if there was a chat with me with him in February, at that time there was no investigation order against him (Idris Sisite, ed). If there was an investigation against him, which way could be that stupid for me to chat," concluded Johanis.