SURABAYA – Crazy Rich Surabaya Budi Said fought against his designation as a suspect in the alleged corruption case of Antam gold transactions. Through his legal counsel, Budi Said filed a pre-trial motion and stated that his suspect designation was a form of harassment against the Supreme Court’s decision.
Sudiman Sidabukke, Budi Said’s legal counsel, explained the reasons why they filed a pre-trial motion to the South Jakarta District Court.
“The civil case was then criminalized. So the conclusion is that there is a strong suspicion of criminalization,” he said at a press conference held in Surabaya on Tuesday (2/13/2024).
Sidabukke explained why Budi Said’s suspect designation by the Attorney General’s Office was considered a form of criminalization.
“Why do we call it criminalization? Because the civil decision has been made,” he explained.
In addition, regarding state losses under Article 2 and 3 of the Corruption Eradication Law, which were charged to Budi Said. According to Sidabukke, according to the Constitutional Court’s decision, the state loss under these articles is not only potential but also real.
“What is being questioned is the 1,136 grams of gold, which is considered a state loss. My question is, where is the state harmed? Even though the 1,136 kg of gold has not been delivered and received by Budi Said,” he said.
Sidabukke emphasized that if the gold weighing 1,136 kg had been received, it would have been to implement the Supreme Court’s Reconsideration decision won by Budi Said.
“If this is the case, then the legal certainty is disturbed. It’s not just about our client, Budi Said, but also the problem of law enforcement lacks legal certainty in Indonesia,” he explained.
Based on the reasons for designating Budi Said as a corruption suspect, Sidabukke stated that it is considered a form of harassment against the Supreme Court’s decision.
“In my opinion, this is a form of harassment against the Supreme Court’s decision,” he said.
He assessed that in designating Budi Said as a suspect, there is no element of state loss.
“Because the 1,136 kg of gold has not been received by Budi Said at all. So the question is, where is the state loss?” Sidabukke said.
Meanwhile, Ben Hadjon, another legal counsel for Budi Said, stated that based on the decision of the Surabaya District Court in a criminal case of fraud involving four defendants (Eksi Anggraeni, Endang Kumoro, Misdianto, Ahmad Purwanto), Budi Said was positioned as a victim or a disadvantaged party.
“Therefore, when Budi Said was designated as a suspect by the prosecutor’s office, we found it strange. Because there has been confusion in the legal construction, because someone who was supposed to be a victim was quickly turned into a suspect in a corruption case,” he explained.
Previously, the Attorney General’s Office had designated Budi Said for gold transactions with Antam. Budi Said was charged as a suspect for allegedly being involved in the abuse of authority in the sale of precious metals by Butik Surabaya 1 PT Antam.
Budi Said allegedly committed the act together with four people, namely Eksi Anggraeni (broker), Endang Kumoro (Head of BELM Surabaya 01 Antam), Misdianto (administrative staff BELM Surabaya 01 Antam), and Ahmad Purwanto (General Trading Manufacturing And Service Senior Officer Antam).
In this case, the Attorney General’s Office stated that Budi Said allegedly caused state financial losses of IDR 1.1 trillion based on the difference of 1,136 kg gold traded between the two parties.
