KPK vs Setya Novanto: Every Minute Counts for Both Sides

Credits: Suratkabar.id

• Timing is everything. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) could face another blow to its reputation if the court does not accept its case against Novanto in a timely manner.

• Speaker of the House and Golkar Chairman Setya Novanto has been declared a suspect in the massive e-ID procurement corruption case earlier this year by the KPK. The KPK believes there were US$170 million in state losses, one of its biggest corruption cases ever in Indonesia.

• Novanto’s lawyers filed a lawsuit against the KPK case and his detention. That pretrial was set to occur on 30 November however the KPK requested a week extension (until 7 December) to better prepare their case.

• The KPK has finally submitted their case files to the corruption court however the files are thousands pages and must be carefully reviewed before court judges are appointed to the case and the hearing can begin.

• The corruption court has stated that they hope to finalize the case and appoint judges by 13 December.

• It all comes down to timing. Novanto’s pretrial hearing is set to begin today, 8 December, and the court could potentially make a decision any time between 11-13 December.

• If the judge presiding over the pretrial makes a decision in favor of Novanto before the corruption court has filed indictment charges against the defendant, the case against him would automatically be dropped and Novanto would be released from detention. Novanto has successfully escaped the KPK’s grasp already this year when he won his first pretrial case.

• The KPK has had a 100% conviction rate in the corruption court, however Novanto has been their toughest challenge in their 15-year history. A favorable decision for Novanto in his pretrial lawsuit would be an embarrassment for the KPK but more importantly damage its reputation as Indonesia’s most competent institution.

• The count down has begun

DECEMBER 8, 2017