JAKARTA: Indonesia's Attorney General's Office (AGO) has detained former assistant attorney general for special crimes Febrie Adriansyah in a corruption investigation, following growing calls for his immediate arrest.
Febrie was detained on Friday evening after being questioned by AGO investigators from Friday afternoon. His questioning was confirmed by AGO spokesman Anang Supriatna.
"He has been present for questioning since 1 p.m.," Anang said.
Febrie had previously failed to attend his first summons for questioning on Wednesday, citing health reasons. Only his lawyer, Don Ritto, who has also been named a suspect in the case and detained, and an unnamed witness complied with the summons.
The AGO said Febrie was questioned on Friday as a witness in a money-laundering investigation.
The case emerged after investigators from the National Police's Corruption Eradication Corps (Kortastipidkor) raided at least a dozen locations in early July, including a house in Sentul, Bogor regency, West Java.
From the house, which Febrie acknowledged belonged to him, police seized billions of rupiah in banknotes in various currencies, as well as 74 kilograms of gold bars.
Febrie initially denied any wrongdoing on July 11, the same day he resigned from his post. Later that day, police announced that Febrie and Don had been named suspects and that the case had been handed over to the AGO, raising questions about the independence and accountability of the investigation.
The investigation was also clouded by conflicting statements from the AGO regarding Febrie's status following the handover.
Anang later clarified that Febrie had been named a suspect in an alleged corruption and money-laundering case linked to the AGO's handling of a previous graft case involving state-owned insurer PT Asabri.
As Febrie was not immediately detained after being named a suspect, pressure mounted on the AGO to take him into custody.
On Friday, a group calling itself the Anticorruption Civil Society Coalition staged a rally outside the AGO's headquarters, demanding Febrie's immediate arrest.
"This case must be solved immediately," a protester said during the rally. "There must be no evil plans masterminded by high officials to undermine the investigation."
A similar rally took place on Wednesday, when a group known as the National Legal Intellectuals Network (JIHN) made a similar demand. The protest reportedly turned violent after protesters attempted to burn tyres and block the road, leading to clashes with police.
Pressure for Febrie's detention also came from the House of Representatives. Habiburokhman, chairman of House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, said during a meeting on July 13 that Febrie should be detained immediately, describing the detention of corruption suspects as "highly urgent".
In a separate statement on Thursday, Habiburokhman, a politician from President Prabowo Subianto's Gerindra Party, expressed confidence that the new assistant attorney general for special crimes, Kuntadi, could investigate the case swiftly, transparently and fairly.
On Friday, Attorney General Burhanuddin inaugurated Kuntadi as the new assistant attorney general for special crimes, along with other prosecutors appointed to key positions within the AGO.
The appointment was first announced on Wednesday by State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, who said President Prabowo had signed a decree appointing Kuntadi to lead the AGO's special crimes division.
Experts have called for the case to be handled by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to avoid a potential conflict of interest, given that many AGO investigators were previously Febrie's subordinates.
The AGO, however, has continued to handle the case. It has formed a team of nine senior prosecutors with experience in corruption investigations, including prosecutors who previously served at the KPK, such as Chatarina Girsang and Zet Tadung Allo.
Meanwhile, celebrity lawyer Hotman Paris announced on Thursday that he had resigned from Febrie's legal team because of health problems and the need to undergo medical treatment overseas.
