Former Indonesian Minister of Agriculture and officials face corruption allegations

INDONESIA：In a riveting exposé of corruption reaching the highest echelons of the Indonesian government, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has placed former Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL), and two top-ranking officials, Kasdi Subagyono (KS) and Muhammad Hatta (MH), under the spotlight as suspects in a widespread financial scandal permeating the Ministry of Agriculture.

SYL, who wielded substantial influence, not only within the Ministry but also as an Advisor to the Nasdem Party, is accused of orchestrating a complex web of monetary exploitation, employing levies and contributions from civil servants and implementing meticulously calculated transactions that involved cash, bank transfers, and alternate forms of payment.

Syahrul Yasin Limpo is known to have held the position of Advisor to the Nasdem Party. (Photo: manifesto.id)

SYL allegedly assigned Kasdi and Hatta to collect money from individuals in various positions within the Ministry, including those in echelon I and II. These transactions involved cash transfers, bank transfers, and even payments in the form of goods or services.

According to the Vice-Chairman of the KPK, Johanis Tanak, the source of the money came from the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget realization, including inflated demands for money from vendors involved in Ministry projects.

It is said that under SYL’s instruction, Kasdi and Hatta ordered their subordinates to gather specific amounts of money from individuals in echelon I, directors-general, heads of agencies, and secretaries at each echelon I level. The amounts ranged from US$4,000 to US$10,000, approximately Rp60 million to Rp150 million.

Johanis Tanak stated that the receipt of money through Kasdi and Hatta was seen as a representation of SYL and occurred routinely each month using foreign currency denominations.

He further revealed that the money was used by SYL, along with KS and MH, for purposes such as credit card payments and installments for the purchase of a Toyota Alphard owned by SYL. The total amount of money enjoyed by SYL, KS, and MH amounts to approximately Rp13.9 billion, with further investigation ongoing.

Photo: tagar.id

In addition to these allegations, the KPK is also investigating the flow of funds from the corruption case involving former Minister SYL to the National Democratic Party (Nasdem).

It’s worth noting that Syahrul Yasin Limpo is known to have held the position of Advisor to the Nasdem Party. Johanis Tanak, the Vice-Chairman of the KPK, stated that further investigation into the potential flow of funds to Nasdem would be conducted.

SYL and his associates are charged with violating Article 12, letters e and b, of the Corruption Eradication Law (UU Tipikor) in conjunction with Article 55, paragraph 1, section 1 of the Indonesian Penal Code (KUHP).