INDONESIA – Indonesia’s top anticorruption prosecutor has resigned after police raids on his home and other locations led to the seizure of gold bars and $20m of cash in multiple currencies.
In a statement on Saturday, the Attorney General’s Office said Febrie Adriansyah was stepping down as head prosecutor of special crimes “to maintain the integrity, objectivity, and neutrality of law enforcement”. Authorities have not formally charged Febrie with any crimes.
Jakarta and national police raided at least 12 locations and interviewed 15 witnesses across Jakarta, South Tangerang and Bogor on July 8 and 9 in connection with a corruption and bribery case that authorities believe led to recent electricity blackouts in several parts of the country.
The investigations are connected to massive fraud scandals at the state insurers Asabri and the now-defunct life insurance Jiwasraya, as well as concerns that state officials were colluding with mining companies procuring poor-quality coal for state power plants.
Police seized 74kg of gold bars and Indonesian rupiah, US dollars, Singapore dollars and Saudi riyals amounting to $20m, spokesman Budi Hermanto said at a news conference late on Friday. According to local media, a significant portion of the assets were found in a home in Bogor belonging to Febrie. Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, before his resignation, Febrie denied wrongdoing and said he did not understand why he was being investigated over the blackouts.
Febrie, 58, was appointed special crimes prosecutor in 2022 after an extensive career across Indonesia. He handled high-profile cases and was, until his resignation, looking into a corruption investigation into the National Nutrition Agency. The agency is running President Prabowo Subianto’s controversial free school meals programme, which many Indonesians have derided as corrupt.
As a prosecutor, Febrie also oversaw a corruption case against Nadiem Makarim, founder of payment start-up Gojek, who was handed a 10-year sentence in June. That case has been widely criticized by international observers and rights groups as a travesty of justice.
He also investigated corruption allegations against former trade minister-turned-government critic Thomas Lembong and an illegal fuel imports case at the state energy firm Pertamina. (Aljazeera)
