After rogue tax official Gayus Tambunan was questioned by police following his surrender in Singapore, National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri on Friday removed a police general accused of taking bribes in the case.
The former National Police head of economic crimes, Brig. Gen. Edmond Ilyas, has been pulled off the job as Lampung Police chief.
“I issued a letter today removing Edmond and several investigators at the economic crimes unit ... because they need to face the investigation,” Bambang said.
Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the former National Police chief detective, last month accused three police officials, identified only by rank and initials, of taking bribes from Gayus, a mid-ranking tax official, to bury a criminal probe. Gayus appeared on the police radar when he was found to have Rp 28 billion ($3.1 million) in his bank accounts. The Tangerang District Court, however, acquitted him of embezzlement on March 12.
Bambang said Edmond faced two investigations: one by the internal affairs division and another by an independent team from the police’s detective unit.
Brig. Gen. Radja Erisman, the director of economic crimes at the National Police believed to be another official implicated by Susno for graft, remains in his post.
Edmond and Radja have filed a criminal defamation complaint against Susno over his allegations, saying they were innocent of the charges.
Bambang stressed to the Jakarta Globe that Edmond was not yet a suspect. “We must uphold presumption of innocence,” he said, adding that he would wait for the results of the investigation into the police general.
A senior police source told the Globe on condition of anonymity that investigators had evidence Edmond had received at least Rp 1.1 billion from Gayus and Andi Kosasih. Andi is a businessman who had claimed to own the money in Gayus’s account, but he has since been declared a suspect for giving false information.
The source said that there was no evidence yet that Radja took bribes, but police uncovered an administrative offense.
“Radja unfroze Gayus’s account, which is a breach of the Money Laundering Law. Only the National Police chief has authority to remove the freeze.”
Radja also allegedly let Comr. Arafat Enanie and Adj. Comr. Sri Sumartini question Gayus at hotels, not at National Police headquarters, during the earlier probe of the taxman this year.
The two are now suspects, with Arafat said to have received a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a Toyota Fortuner and a house from Gayus, the source said. “We already seized all of that as evidence, while Sumartini got Rp 100 million in cash, which she used to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca.”
A police source added that Arafat also received bribes from PT Mega Cipta Jaya Garmindo, a company that allegedly transferred funds into Gayus’s accounts.
Gayus surrendered to Indonesian police in Singapore on Tuesday after fleeing to the city-state.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s Office has yet to take action against its prosecutors who handled the case that ended with Gayus’s acquittal.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji aired doubts that his staff had dismissed charges against Gayus for money. Instead, he blamed “thoughtlessness,” saying they were overloaded with big case
The former National Police head of economic crimes, Brig. Gen. Edmond Ilyas, has been pulled off the job as Lampung Police chief.
“I issued a letter today removing Edmond and several investigators at the economic crimes unit ... because they need to face the investigation,” Bambang said.
Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the former National Police chief detective, last month accused three police officials, identified only by rank and initials, of taking bribes from Gayus, a mid-ranking tax official, to bury a criminal probe. Gayus appeared on the police radar when he was found to have Rp 28 billion ($3.1 million) in his bank accounts. The Tangerang District Court, however, acquitted him of embezzlement on March 12.
Bambang said Edmond faced two investigations: one by the internal affairs division and another by an independent team from the police’s detective unit.
Brig. Gen. Radja Erisman, the director of economic crimes at the National Police believed to be another official implicated by Susno for graft, remains in his post.
Edmond and Radja have filed a criminal defamation complaint against Susno over his allegations, saying they were innocent of the charges.
Bambang stressed to the Jakarta Globe that Edmond was not yet a suspect. “We must uphold presumption of innocence,” he said, adding that he would wait for the results of the investigation into the police general.
A senior police source told the Globe on condition of anonymity that investigators had evidence Edmond had received at least Rp 1.1 billion from Gayus and Andi Kosasih. Andi is a businessman who had claimed to own the money in Gayus’s account, but he has since been declared a suspect for giving false information.
The source said that there was no evidence yet that Radja took bribes, but police uncovered an administrative offense.
“Radja unfroze Gayus’s account, which is a breach of the Money Laundering Law. Only the National Police chief has authority to remove the freeze.”
Radja also allegedly let Comr. Arafat Enanie and Adj. Comr. Sri Sumartini question Gayus at hotels, not at National Police headquarters, during the earlier probe of the taxman this year.
The two are now suspects, with Arafat said to have received a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a Toyota Fortuner and a house from Gayus, the source said. “We already seized all of that as evidence, while Sumartini got Rp 100 million in cash, which she used to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca.”
A police source added that Arafat also received bribes from PT Mega Cipta Jaya Garmindo, a company that allegedly transferred funds into Gayus’s accounts.
Gayus surrendered to Indonesian police in Singapore on Tuesday after fleeing to the city-state.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s Office has yet to take action against its prosecutors who handled the case that ended with Gayus’s acquittal.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji aired doubts that his staff had dismissed charges against Gayus for money. Instead, he blamed “thoughtlessness,” saying they were overloaded with big case
