Reporter: Barratut Taqiyyah | Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie
JAKARTA. A court hearing in the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) bribery case revealed that the name of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s son, Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro could have been abused in the scandal.
According to a dossier read during the on Thursday, Ibas is believed to be close to Singapore-based oil trader Kernel Oil, especially the company’s president Widodo Ratanachaitong. Widodo was suspected of bribing former chief Rudi Rubiandini in return for a guarantee to allocate some oil blocks.
Ibas’ alleged involvement was revealed when judge Djoko Subagyo asked graft defendant Deviardi, a golf trainer who dabbled as a middleman and confidante of Rudi, about his conversation with Widodo.
In the dossier, Deviardi said that Widodo claimed to have close ties to people from the State Palace.
“He [Widodo] has seven oil companies, all based overseas. He has networks in the State Palace, the House of Representatives and Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam,” Djoko said as he read the dossier.
According to the dossier, Deviardi also told Rudi that Ibas would be happy if Rudi struck a deal with Widodo.
Djoko then asked Deviardi whether it was true that Widodo told him about his close relationship with the First Family.
“Oh yes, [the conversation between us took place] when we met in Singapore. Widodo told me something about that. After that, I reported [the information] to Rudi,” Deviardi said.
Responding to the allegation, Ibas, who is also the secretary-general of the Democratic Party, said that he did not know Widodo.
“I was linked to the case. I reiterate that I don’t know the people who claim that they are close to me,” he said.
Ibas also said that he knew nothing about Kernel Oil, or people linked to the company.
“Anyone could mention my name, but in the context of the law, [the public] should be able to tell the difference between facts, opinion, political rumors or anything that leads to defamation,” he said.
This is not the first time Ibas was dragged into a graft scandal. Last year, he was accused by graft convict Yulianis, former deputy financial director of the privately owned Permai Group, of having accepted US$200,000 from the company.
Yulianis said the Permai Group wired Ibas $200,000, money that was allegedly pooled from the Hambalang project.
The money was reportedly used to finance the Democratic Party congress in Bandung in 2010, during which Anas Urbaningrum was elected chairman.
Ibas has denied the accusation, saying he did not know Yulianis and adding that the allegation was an attempt to tarnish his reputation.
Thursday’s hearing also implicated other individuals, including current SKKMigas chief Johannes Widjonarko, suspected of introducing a businessman who gave US$600,000 to Rudi through Deviardi.
Rudi, who also testified on Thursday, admitted that Deviardi attempted to deliver bribe money, but he claimed to have turned it down.
In his testimony, Rudi also named Tri Yulianto of the Democratic Party, who is also a member of the House’s Commission VII overseeing energy and natural mineral resources.
Rudi claimed that he was pressed by the commission to pay holiday bonuses for the Idul Fitri festivities in 2013, locally known as THR.
Rudi said that he gave $200,000 to Tri, who was reportedly ordered by fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Sutan Bhatoegana to get the money.
The money paid to Tri was taken from a $300,000 sum received by Deviardi from an unknown company as a gift, Rudi said.
Rudi claimed that he had no choice but to accept the $300,000 due to pressure from the House.
Deviardi, however, said that the money was actually given in Singapore by Febri Prasetyadi Soeparta, the former president director of PT Zerotech Nusantara. (Hans Nicholas Jong)
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