JAKARTA: The whereabouts of former assistant attorney general for special crimes Febrie Adriansyah remain a mystery, which has increased scrutiny of the handling of the graft case in which he has been implicated, particularly following the controversial handover of the investigation from the National Police to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).
Febrie’s name first surfaced when the police’s Corruption Eradication Corps (Kortas Tipidkor) conducted over a dozen raids across Greater Jakarta last week, during which they seized Rp 476 billion (US$26.3 million) in various currencies and stacks of gold bars at one house in Sentul, Bogor, West Java.
The raids were part of the police’s probe into alleged corruption in coal procurement for state-owned electricity firm PLN, which allegedly contributed to recent nationwide blackouts. The probe later expanded to include other cases pertaining to state insurer PT Asabri and several other state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The top prosecutor, who had led the special crimes division since 2022, resigned on Saturday (July 11), just hours after admitting on Friday that the Sentul house belonged to him, while denying any wrongdoing.
Later that day, the police named him and a lawyer named Don Ritto as suspects in alleged corruption and money laundering in relation to Febrie’s handling of cases pertaining to Asabri and several other SOEs, before announcing that the AGO would take over the police’s ongoing investigation into the three cases
Despite facing similar allegations to Febrie, Don was arrested by the police on Friday. Acting assistant attorney general for special crimes Rudi Margono said on Sunday that Febrie had yet to be arrested because investigators first needed to examine the case files and evidence received from the police.
Since his Friday press briefing, however, Febrie’s whereabouts have remained unclear, with no further public sighting as of Monday evening.
The immigration office has banned both Febrie and Don from leaving the country for 20 days as of last Saturday, with immigration director general Hendarsam Marantoko saying that the ban was based on a request from the Jakarta Police.
“[We] are committed to supporting the law enforcement process by implementing every request for prevention measures,” Hendarsam said on Monday, as quoted by Antara.
Neither representatives from the AGO, the police nor immigration immediately responded to The Jakarta Post’s request for comment regarding Febrie’s whereabouts.
Satgas PKH, the interagency task force in charge of curbing illegal plantations and mining in forest areas, also did not respond to questions regarding Febrie, who served as head of the task force.
Antigraft watchdog Transparency International Indonesia (TII) secretary-general Danang Widoyoko has since questioned why Febrie had not been detained despite being named a suspect.
“This does not make any sense. In many recent cases, suspects were detained even when the evidence was still questionable,” Danang told the Post on Monday, citing a case involving former education minister Nadiem Makarim as one example.
“But in [Febrie’s] case, it is unclear where the suspect even is. This calls for greater accountability over how this legal process is being handled,” Danang said.
Danang’s comment echoed legal experts’ similar calls for transparency from the AGO to ensure due process and to avoid conflicts of interest in its probe into its own former senior official. Habiburokhman, chairman of House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs, previously urged the AGO to establish an independent team of senior prosecutors with no affiliation to Febrie to investigate his case.
The public scrutiny prompted National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo to meet Attorney General ST Burhanuddin on Monday, after which they emphasized their commitment to maintaining coordination following the transfer of Febrie’s case to the AGO.
“The AGO and the police are one big family. We will continue ensuring that synergy in this family is maintained,” Listyo said in a livestreamed press briefing after the meeting, adding that there was never any issue between the two institutions.
Separately on Monday, Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Budi Hermanto said they would involve the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the US and Singapore embassies and Bank Indonesia to verify the authenticity of foreign currencies and rupiah seized during the raids.
He said the transfer of the case to the AGO would be “carried out gradually” given the ongoing third-party examination. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
