The Head of Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency has been named as a suspect in an extortion case involving an ex-minister who was arrested last month on graft charges.
Firli Bahuri, head of the Corruption Eradication Commission, is the latest official in President Joko Widodo’s administration to face graft charges.
According to reports, Firli, a former police inspector general, is suspected of extorting money from Syahrul Limpo, the former agriculture minister who was arrested in a corruption case last month.
According to a police official, there was “sufficient evidence to name the KPK chief as a suspect in a corruption case in the form of extortion”, adding that a state official extorted money at the agriculture ministry from 2020-2023.
The KPK are the Indonesian initials of the corruption commission.
Meanwhile, authorities in Singapore confiscated foreign currency transaction documents as well as US dollars worth 7.4 billion rupiah ($477,730) during raids at two locations, according to Ade. The police did not provide any additional information about the investigation.
Corruption convictions for state officials can result in a life sentence in prison.
According to the law, the president must temporarily suspend any KPK chief named as a criminal suspect, and when asked about Firli being named a suspect, the president stated that he would “respect the process of law.”
According to the report, Firli was appointed KPK chief in 2019, around the same time that critics claimed changes to the law governing the agency had weakened it, sparking a series of “save the KPK” protests.
