he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is investigating the purchase of a private jet allegedly linked to a corruption case pertaining to late former Papua governor Lukas Enembe.
Investigators suspected that the private jet, which is reportedly located out of the country, was bought with money embezzled from the Papua provincial budget, KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
While not disclosing the value of the aircraft, he added that the aircraft was purchased in cash, using money carried in 19 suitcases that was transported from Papua by plane. The antigraft body spokesperson also did not disclose the identities of the individuals who carried the money or owned the private jet.
“KPK investigators are also tracing possible purchases of another aircraft linked to the same case,” Budi said, stopping short of disclosing the current location and type of private jet.
The purchase of the private jet is allegedly related to a corruption case implicating Lukas and his treasury Dius Enumbi, Budi told reporters on Monday.
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The case is related to an alleged embezzlement of the Papua provincial administration’s operational fund between 2020 and 2022, with some of the money suspected to have been used to buy the private jet. The illicit act allegedly caused Rp 1.2 trillion (US$73 million) in state losses.
For the case, graft busters summoned Gabriel Isaak, a Singaporean director of private charter airline company RDG Airlines, to be questioned about his role in the purchase of the private jet. However, he failed to appear at the KPK headquarters in Jakarta.
Earlier this month, investigators also questioned Willie Taruna, owner of a foreign exchange business, to track the money allegedly embezzled by the Papuan officials.
The alleged embezzlement case was a development from a past case that implicated Lukas, who was named suspect by the antigraft body for accepting bribery and gratuities in September 2022. KPK investigators arrested him in January 2023 and brought him to trial six months later.
Convicted: Former Papua governor and graft defendant Lukas Enembe waves to his supporters on Oct. 19, 2023, after the verdict hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court. A panel of judges sentenced him to eight years in prison after finding him guilty of bribery and accepting gratuities pertaining to infrastructure projects in Papua. (Antara/Fakhri Hermansyah)
The Jakarta Corruption Court found him guilty in October 2023 for accepting Rp 17.7 billion in bribes and Rp 2 billion in unlawful gifts during his tenure as governor between 2013 and 2022. He was also ordered to pay Rp 500 million in fines and a Rp 19.6 billion restitution.
Following an appeal from Lukas, the Jakarta High Court increased the sentence to 10 years, a Rp 1 billion fine and a restitution fee of Rp 47.8 billion, more than twice the fee ordered by judges at the lower court.
But two weeks after the ruling, Lukas died in imprisonment due to kidney failure, a disease he had been suffering from since he was placed under investigation and standing trial for corruption.
Lukas’ death nullified his detention by law, but the KPK decided to march on with the investigation as an effort to recover state assets.
Read also: Ex-Papua governor Lukas Enembe dies at 56
During his tenure, Lukas once supported the government’s plan to divide the country’s easternmost province of Papua into four new provinces: Papua, South Papua, Central Papua and the Papua Highlands.
The legislation was unanimously passed on June 31, 2022, which was met with criticism from the public and activists over fears that the plan would be used as a pretext to tighten government restrictions on Papua.
The Indonesian side of the Papua Islands have seen an increase in violent attacks by rebel groups and armed criminals who are demanding independence from Indonesia.
