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Indonesian court indicts ex-parliament speaker Novanto

By REUTERS
December 15, 2017

JAKARTA: Indonesian prosecutors charged a former parliament speaker Setya Novanto on Wednesday in connection with a $170 million graft scandal after he held up proceedings for hours at the opening of his trial, saying he was ill.

Novanto has been brought to trial by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which suspects extensive pilfering of public funds linked to a national identity card programme. "The defendant both directly and indirectly intervened in the budgeting and procurement of goods and services," prosecutor Irene Putri said while reading out the indictment.

The charges include allegations Novanto received $7.3 million in bribes, and a $135,000 watch, for his role in fixing a marked-up budget for the identity card programme. Novanto, who has denied wrongdoing, faces up to 20 years in prison, according to prosecutors.

According to local media reports, the Golkar Party, which Novanto had also chaired, replaced him with Airlangga Hartanto, who is currently serving as the Industry Minister, on Wednesday night. Novanto resigned from his post as parliament speaker earlier this week. The politician has earned a reputation for his capacity to cling to power through several previous corruption cases.

Novanto repeatedly missed summonses for questioning by the anti-graft agency in the latest case, saying he needed heart surgery, but was put under armed guard in hospital and taken into custody last month.

The case has riveted the media and captured the attention of social media users, many of whom have mocked him in widely shared posts. Novanto arrived at court on Wednesday in a white shirt and a bright orange jacket usually worn by KPK graft suspects, and held up court proceedings when he said he had diarrhoea and needed medical attention.

After long delays to allow doctors to examine Novanto, the presiding judge at the Jakarta corruption court let prosecutors read out the charges, which included unlawful intervention in the procurement process of the ID cards.

"We are sure the defendant is healthy and can follow the court proceedings. This is part of the defendant´s lies," prosecutor Putri said, noting he´d been given a clean bill of health from multiple doctors on Wednesday, as defence lawyers called for more medical examinations for their client. Novanto also declined to confirm to the court details like his name or place of birth, sparking jeers from the courtroom audience.

The KPK is investigating state losses amounting to about $170 million linked to the national electronic identity card scheme after allegations that sums ranging from $5,000 to $5.5 million - generated by marking up procurement costs - were divided up among politicians in parliament.