Former official of the Directorate General of Taxation at the Ministry of Finance, Rafael Alun Trisambodo, will be sentenced today. The prosecutors of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) previously demanded Rafael to be sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegedly using his position to commit corruption and money laundering. If the Panel of Judges decides in favor of the KPK and eventually the public, then the outcome of the trial can be predicted. It is hoped that the decision will be a new start for the Ministry of Finance to reform the Directorate General of Taxation, however, we cannot forget that in more than a decade, there have been dozens of officials at the same directorate general who have also been convicted of corruption.
Gayus Tambunan
Gayus Halomoan Partahanan Tambunan is a former civil servant in the Directorate General of Taxation of the Ministry of Finance. He committed abuse of authority, accepting bribes from taxpayers, and various other crimes including money laundering. In his trial, Gayus was found guilty of accepting Rp925 million in bribes from one Roberto Santonius, a consultant at PT Metropolitan Retailmart (PT MR) related to the tax objections of the company. Gayus was assessed negligent in handling tax objections from PT Surya Alam Tunggal (PT SAT), which resulted in Rp570 million in State losses. Gayus was also involved in the tax evasion case involving PT Megah Citra Raya (PT MCR). In addition, Gayus was found guilty of receiving graft while serving as a tax assessment officer amounting to US$659,800 and SG$9.6 million. In the case of money laundering, Gayus failed to prove that his entire estate was not proceeds of crime. Even until after imprisonment, Gayus often made headlines. He was found on excursions outside of prison.
Dhana Widyatmika
Similar to Gayus, Dhana, whose position was equivalent to Gayus at the time, was worth Rp60 billion even though the amount of assets he reported was only Rp1.23 billion. The Supreme Court imposed 13 years imprisonment on Dhana for:
- receiving Rp3.4 billion for PT Mutiara Virgo’s tax underpayment in 2003-2004 and receiving Mandiri Traveler Cheque (MTC) worth Rp750 million from Batam City Government employees;
- forcing the board of PT Kornet Trans Utama to provide Rp1 billion and in return for the reduction of the company’s tax liability; and
- committing money laundering.
Bahasyim Assifie
Bahasyim at the time of the incident was also a tax officer in the Ministry of Finance and served as Head of Tax Inspection and Investigation Office. Bahasyim was sentenced to 12 years in prison. His assets worth Rp60.9 billion and US$681,147 were seized after he was proven guilty of corruption by accepting bribes from taxpayers, one of whom was Tempo Scan’s patroness, Kartini Muljadi (Rp1 billion) in February 2005. Bahasyim was also found guilty of money laundering for saving the proceeds of crime on financial institutions as well as dividing the assets into accounts on behalf of his wife and children.
Mohammad Dian Irwan Nuqisra and Eko Darmayanto
Dian and Eko were former Civil Servant Investigators (PPNS) at the Directorate General of Taxation. The Supreme Court sentenced them to nine years in prison for receiving bribes amounting to SG$600,000 from PT The Master Steel, Rp3.25 billion from PT Delta Internusa, and US$150,000 from PT Nusa Raya Cipta in 2013.
Tommy Hendratno
Tommy Hendratno is the former Section Head of Supervision and Consultation of the Tax Office of Sidoarjo in East Java. Tommy was found guilty of misusing his authority and accepting a bribe of Rp280 million related to the tax restitution of PT Bhakti Investama Tbk. The Supreme Court sentenced Tommy to 10 years in prison and later the case was linked to a case of alleged corruption of tax restitution in Mobile-8 during the tenure of Perindo’s leader and MNC patron, Hary Tanoesoedibjo.
Pargono Riyadi
Pargono is a former PPNS at the Directorate General of Taxation at the Central Jakarta Regional Office. The court sentenced Pargono with four years and six months imprisonment for blackmailing a taxpayer named Asep Yusup Hendra Permana, owner of PT Asep Hendro Racing Sport (AHRS) for Rp600 million.
Herry Setiadji, Indarto Catur Nugroho and Slamet Riyana
They are three former employees of the Kebayoran Baru III Tax Office. The court sentenced each of them to five years in prison because they were proven to have blackmailed PT Electronic Design and Manufacturing International (EDMI) in relation to tax refund amounting to Rp3 billion. All three of them demanded EDMI to give Rp450 million so that the excess tax could be refunded.
Handang Soekarno
Handang was caught by the KPK in a Sting Operation conducted in November 2016 together with Rajesh “Mohan” Rajamohanan Nair, the managing director PT EK Prima Ekspor (EKP, a subsidiary of Lulu Group International). Handang was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in June 2017 for receiving Rp1.9 billion of the total Rp6 billion promised by Mohan in exchange of his help for the Company to deal with several of the company’s tax problems. Mohan was sentenced to three years imprisonment. The case had mentioned the then Director General of Taxation, Ken Dwijuagiasteadi, and the President’s brother-in-law, Arif Budi Sulistyo, as parties involved.
Jajun Jaenuddin
The Attorney General’s Office announced on Sept 2, 2017, that they had expedited the docket on behalf of Jajun Jaenuddin to the South Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office. Jajun is a former official of the Directorate General of Taxation and was named a graft suspect on May 4, 2017 for allegedly receiving graft or bribery associated with his duties as a state official from 2007 to 2013. The amount of bribe he received allegedly reached Rp14.16 billion. Jajun was fired from the directorate general in 2014 and sentenced to seven years in prison in 2018.
Yul Dirga et al
In a press conference held on Aug. 15, 2019, KPK explained a conspiracy that began when PT Wahana Auto Ekamarga (PT WAE) submitted its Annual Tax Notification Letter (SPT Tahunan) for the year 2015 in 2017. The Company filed a proposal for tax refund (restitution) amounted to Rp5.03 billion. The Tax Office III for Foreign Investment (KPP PMA Tiga) conducted a field inspection related to the proposal. The office was led by Yul Dirga.
The Tax Examination Team was then ordered to conduct an inspection. One Hadi Sutrisno oversaw the team as a supervisor. The team leader was one Jumari, while the team member was one M Naim Fahmi. The results of the examination revealed that the Company could not file for a refund because the Company’s tax payments were not overpaid but underpaid. The Company should have paid more. But Hadi, instead of asking the Company to carry out its obligations, used the opportunity to conspire with the Company. Hadi, with Yul Dirga’s approval, offered help to approve restitution in exchange for money. The conspiracy happened several times before the parties were finally arrested. The case brought down four tax officials, they are Yul Dirga, Hadi Sutrisno, Jumari, and Muhammad Naim Fahmi.
Angin Prayitno Aji et al
KPK uncovered allegations of corruption committed by a team of tax auditors under the lead of Angin Prayitno Aji earlier in 2021. Prayitno, the former director of extensification at the Directorate General of Taxation, is the key actor in this case. At the time of the incident, he was the director of examination and collection. Prayitno supposedly placed several of his trusted people around him and formed ten inspection teams known as “Satgas 30”. The Satgas 30 is unfortunately known for all the wrong reasons, especially in negotiating the amount of commission to taxpayers in return for their help to manipulate corporate tax obligations. Every agreement, reportedly, must be with Prayitno’s permission and there are at least 165 taxpayers who have become Prayitno’s “customers”.
Long story short, the KPK managed to sniff out evidence from transactions with three companies, namely:
- PT Gunung Madu Plantations (PT GMP), with a link to Indra Rukmana Kowara (son-in-law of the late president Soeharto, husband of Siti Hardijanti Rukmana);
- PT Jhonlin Baratama (PT JB) owned by the notorious Haji Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, popularly known as Haji Isam, also known as one of the key financiers in Indonesian politics; and
- PT Bank Pan Indonesia Tbk (Panin Bank – PNBN) controlled by Mu’min Ali Gunawan.
The allegations were as frightening as Prayitno’s reputation because the tax consultants of each company were able to provide large sums of bribes just to avoid their tax obligations. Prayitno and some of his minions alongside the tax consultants have been found guilty in 2022. The case brought down four tax consultants and six tax officials namely Dadan Ramdani, Wawan Ridwan, Alfred Simanjuntak, Yulmanizar and Febrian. Investigation and inquisition on Yulmanizar and Febrian are ongoing.
Abdul Rachman
In 2022, the Supervisor of the Tax Audit Team at KPP Pare in Kediri, East Java, Abdul Rachman, was named a suspect by the KPK in the tax refund bribery case for the construction of the Solo-Kertosono Toll Road. At that time, he was suspected of receiving around Rp1 billion to approve the tax refund submitted by Tri Atmoko, the representative for the Joint Operation of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CBRC) which consisted of PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk (WIKA) and PT Pembangunan Perumahan (Persero) Tbk (PTPP). Abdul Rachman was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison in March 2023.
Rafael Alun Trisambodo
As we all know, the case was uncovered after Rafael’s son, Mario Dandy Satrio, assaulted David Ozora, the son of Jonathan Latumahina – a close friend of the Minister of Religion, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, who is also an official of GP Ansor. David ended up in a coma and his family refused to settle the incident amicably. Mario, and two other people were named suspects and had been found guilty soon after.
However, what starts out as an ordinary “juvenile delinquency” turns into another serious crime after it is discovered that Rafael has an unreasonable amount of wealth. The amount of his wealth could almost prevent David’s family from continuing this case with police reports, the police and several other parties were on Rafael’s side. But in this digital era, the power of social media is hard to beat. David’s family and relatives reported this incident massively, and the public began to question the origin of Mario and his family’s wealth. In just a few weeks, we learned that Rafael reported a much larger amount of wealth than that of the Minister of Finance, even the President. But the problem is more than that. The assets reported by Rafael turned out to be only a small amount when compared to the amount of his property which was deliberately not reported. The public was furious and started a witch hunt with Rafael in the center of the vortex.
Long story short, a little over a month since the announcement of the predicate crime, the KPK announced that they had named Rafael as suspect in the case of alleged money laundering as a result of a development of investigation. On Aug. 30, 2023, four months after the investigation was commenced, the trial of Rafael Alun started. Prosecutors read their indictment which raises even more questions.
In the indictment, the prosecutors stated that Rafael received grafts worth Rp16.6 billion between 2002 and 2023, with details of Rp5.1 billion received between 2002 and 2010 and Rp11.5 billion received between 2011 and 2023. It was stated that the grafts were received by Rafael together with his wife, Ernie Meike Torondek. This “reward” was received through PT Artha Mega Ekadhana (PT AME) and PT Cubes Consulting as well as from PT Cahaya Kalbar (part of PT Wilmar Cahaya Indonesia Tbk – CEKA) and PT Krisna Bali International Cargo.
The total income from tax administration grafts received by Rafael through said companies amounted to Rp27.8 billion. Rafael and his wife, Ernie, were also charged with money laundering (TPPU). The details are, money laundering committed in the 2003-2010 period in the amount of Rp5.1 billion (from grafts) and other receipts in the amount of Rp31.7 billion and the crimes committed in the 2011-2023 period in the amount of Rp11.5 billion (from grafts) and other receipts in the form of SG$2 million and US$937,000 and Rp14.5 billion or at least equivalent to a total of Rp52 billion.
The Panel of Judges was supposed to read their decision on Jan. 4, 2024 but the hearing was postponed to today, Jan. 8, 2024.
By Pradnya Paramitha
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