KPK grills Luthfi’s wife in money laundering probe

Hans Nicholas Jong, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Sat, April 13 2013, 10:32 AM

A- A A+

Paper Edition | Page: 4

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday questioned Sutiana Astika, the wife of former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) leader Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, who has been charged with corruption and money laundering.

The KPK said that it was now investigating allegations that Luthfi may have acquired his assets through illegal means.

“We have identified some assets linked to Luthfi,” KPK spokesman Johan Budi said, adding that the value of the said assets did not fit Luthfi’s profile.

Besides Sutiana, the KPK also questioned Lusi Tiarani Agustine, who is said to be a close female relative of Luthfi, raising speculation that Luthfi hid his wealth behind his wives’ names.

Luthfi, deemed by his colleagues within the Islamic party as an ustad or religious teacher, is said to have practiced polygamy, reportedly a common practice among PKS politicians. He reportedly has three wives and 12 children.

Sutiana declined to address questions from reporters after her questioning session.

According to Yenti Ganarsih, a money laundering expert from Trisakti University, asset tracing often times uncovered the practice of polygamy by money laundering suspects like Luthfi. “The discovery of polygamy is a by-product of asset tracing, and hopefully it has a deterrent effect on men who have multiple wives without the consent of their first wives,” she told The Jakarta Post.

Yenti added that KPK investigators could conclude that Luthfi was involved in money laundering if the total value of his property was greater than the sum of his financial wealth.

Besides Luthfi, Yenti also cited the case of former National Traffic Police Corps (Korlantas) chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, who will soon stand trial for his role in the corruption case surrounding driving simulator procurement by the National Police.

Djoko was found to have stashed his massive wealth by purchasing a number of homes, most of which were registered to his three wives.

Luthfi is the second suspect to be accused of money laundering in a corruption case pertaining to the beef import policy at the Agriculture Ministry, which is led by Suswono, a PKS politician.

Besides Luthfi, the KPK has also charged Ahmad Fathanah, reportedly a close aide of Luthfi, with money laundering.

Investigators have seized four cars worth Rp. 4.3 billion (US$442,750) from Ahmad as evidence of his alleged money laundering practices.

 The cars were confiscated from Ahmad’s residence in Citayem, Depok, West Java. One car, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, was confiscated during Ahmad’s arrest at the Le Meridien Hotel on the evening of Jan. 29.

Besides the money laundering charges, the KPK also charged Luthfi with bribery, accusing him of using his influence as PKS leader to encourage the ministry to award a beef import license to a particular private company. He was arrested after Fathanah was caught red-handed accepting a Rp 1 billion bribe from Juard Effendy and Arya Abdi Effendi from meat importer PT Indoguna Utama.

Ahmad allegedly planned to pass on the bribe money to Luthfi.

Posted in: