The High Court of East Java do not want to waste time in developing the investigation of cases involving the Chairman of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) La Nyalla Mattalitti. After issuing a new warrant of inquisition (Sprindik) for La Nyalla on the suspicion of embezzling the grants of the East Java Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin East Java), on April 22, 2016 La Nyalla was again named as a suspect in a different case.

La Nyalla was suspected of misusing the Rp5 billion grant money given by the East Java Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) in 2012. He supposedly used to cash to buy Bank Jatim (BJTM)’s IPO shares. La Nyalla was named as a suspect on March 16, 2016.

The High Court tried to summon La Nyalla for questioning several times, but the latter never complied. On March 27, 2016, the authorities attempted to pick him up by force, but he was nowhere to be found. Apparently, La Nyalla had left the country a day after he was named a suspect. Since then, La Nyalla was officially declared  a fugitive.

From his hideout, La Nyalla directed his attorney to file for a pre-trial lawsuit. According to La Nyalla’s legal counsel, the legal steps taken by the High Court had usurped his client’s rights. In addition, the High Court had never examine La Nyalla as a witness before he was named as a suspect.

Based on the informations given before the pre-trial court, on April 12, 2016, the sole presiding judge Judge Ferdinandus decided to grant La Nyalla’s petition and formally declared that the East Java High Court had committed a violation of the law.

Responding to this pre-trial ruling, the High Court declared compliance and revoked La Nyalla’s suspect status. But the High Court also submitted a repeal for travel ban, fugitive status, and passport revoking to the relevant authorities. A few hours later, the High Court issued a new Sprindik and renamed La Nyalla as a suspect. At the same time, the High Court also asked the relevant authorities to process the blocking of accounts and to revoke La Nyalla’s passport.

The Head of the East Java High Court Maruli Hutagalung said that with the new Sprindik the High Court would begin a new examination process because of all the information gained from the previous examination of witnesses were no longer valid.

Based on the new examination, the High Court said that La Nyalla was also involved in money laundering over the period of 2011 to 2014, still involving the same East Java Kadin grant money. The High Court said that it had collected two pieces of evidence and examined the relevant witnesses.

The grants awarded by the Provincial Government to Kadin Jatim from the period of 2011 to 2014 amounted to Rp48 billion. Of the amount, the High Court stated they found suspicious cash flow amounted to Rp1.3 billion to La Nyalla’s account. However, the High Court did not elaborate on the question of money laundering.

The Section Chief of Specific Criminal Investigation of the East Java High Court Dandeni Herdiana told the press that his team had asked for the assistance of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) to track the flow of funds related to this case.

By Pradnya Paramitha

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