Fugitive Surya Darmadi to Return to Indonesia for Legal Proceedings

TheIndonesia.id - The attonery of Surya Darmadi, a suspect in the alleged corruption case of palm oil land tenure and money laundering with state losses of Rp73 trillion or USD 4.9 billion, stated that his client will arrive in Indonesia on Sunday, August 14. He is ready to attend a series of legal proceedings.

"Mr. Surya Darmadi will go to investigators to provide clarification and is ready to follow all ongoing legal processes," said Juniver Girsang, Surya Darmadi's attorney, in a written statement received in Jakarta, Saturday, August 13, 2022.

Girsang said on Sunday his client would come from abroad. Upon arrival in Indonesia, Surya Darmadi will immediately go to the investigation team to explain all the allegations of committing the crime.

He explained that the reason his client did not attend the summons was that the elderly Surya Darmadi is currently undergoing treatment abroad. Because of this legal proceeding, Surya Darmadi is trying to speed up his treatment to respect the applicable legal proceeding.

In fact, Girsang pointed out that his client had written to Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin and the leadership of the Attorney General's Office to prepare him for an examination. "We ask that the ban status be revoked so as not to be prevented from entering Indonesia to follow the legal proceeding," said Girsang.

Surya Darmadi's family was surprised by the naming of him as a suspect. As entrepreneurs, his clients are compliant taxpayers and create jobs for tens of thousands of people. Surya Darmadi's family claims his client is one of the biggest taxpayers in Indonesia.

To face the legal proceeding, said Girsang, Surya Darmadi has prepared all data and documents containing legal facts so that he can defend himself. "Mr Surya Darmadi also asked whether the state lost Rp78 trillion. I've never seen that kind of money. What's the basis and what's wrong? So, he will explain," said Girsang.

Girsang appealed to all parties to respect the ongoing legal process and prioritize the presumption of innocence. "All parties should refrain from judging Surya Darmadi with opinions that are disproportionate and tend not to be based on facts," said Girsang who was accompanied by Adil, Surya Darmadi's son.

Previously, the Head of the Attorney General's Office for Legal Information (Kapuspenkum) Ketut Sumedana said that the investigative team had properly summoned Surya Darmadi three times. The summons was sent to his residence, Jalan Bukit Golf Utama PE. 9 Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta. Furthermore, the summons was also sent to the Palma Group Duta Office at Palma Tower, 22nd floor on Jalan R.A. Kartini III-S Lot 6, Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta.

The final summons was sent to Surya Darmadi's apartment at 21 Nassim Road # 01-18 Nassim Park Residences Singapore. Summons were also announced in several newspapers.

"The Attorney General considers that the SD suspect has relinquished his rights in defending in law enforcement and will continue to coordinate in the search and law enforcement to continue as per the prevailing laws and regulations," said Sumedana, Monday, August 8.

In this case, the investigation team of the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes has named two suspects. They are Surya Darmadi (SD) as the owner of PT Duta Palma Group and Raja Thamsir Rachman (RTS) as the Regent of Indragiri Hulu for the period 1999-2008. Both were suspected of violating the primary Article 2 paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001 in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) 1 of the Criminal Code. With subsidiary Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law no. 31/1999 as amended by Law no. 20/2001 in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) 1 of the Criminal Code.

Surya Darmadi is suspected of violating Article 3 or Article 4 of Law Number 8 of 2010 concerning the Eradication of the Crime of Money Laundering. The actions of these suspects caused state losses of up to IDR 78 trillion. A total of Rp 10 trillion is the value of state losses. The rest, according to the prosecutor's office, is the value of the state's economic losses.