FORMER GRAFT BUSTER FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000189 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP INL FOR BLOOMQUIST, OPDAT FOR BERMAN/HAKIM, ICITAP FOR TREVILLIAN/BARR MCC FOR ISMAIL REF: 09 JAKARTA 1967, 09 JAKARTA 1709 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ECON ETRD SNAR KJUS KMCA KCOR MCC ID SUBJECT: FORMER GRAFT BUSTER FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER ¶1. This message is Sensitive but Unclassified. Please handle accordingly. ¶2. (U) A South Jakarta court found former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Chief Antasari Azhar guilty of planning the murder of businessman Nasrudin Zulkarnaen on February 11, sentencing him to 18 years in prison. Antasari will appeal the verdict. The court also found former South Jakarta Police Chief Wiliardi Wizard and 7 other accomplices guilty in the much-publicized case. ¶3. (SBU) The KPK's credibility remains solid in spite of this verdict. In a clear move to distance itself from Antasari, no one from the KPK appeared at the sentencing, which was open to the public. Antasari burned his bridges with the KPK after apparently cooperating with police and prosecutors in efforts to frame the KPK deputies Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto. While Antasari claimed he was set up by police in an effort to weaken the KPK, the evidence presented in the case does not support this version of events. Unlike the Bibit-Chandra case, Antasari's conviction has not generated a significant public outcry. ¶4. (SBU) Meanwhile, the KPK continues to actively pursue prominent corruption suspects. Also on February 11, the KPK arrested former member of Parliament Dudhie Makmum from opposition party PDIP, a close associate of senior PDIP. The KPK arrested Dudhie for allegedly receiving a bribe in the nomination process for Bank of Indonesia's Board of Governors. It is unclear at this time at this time if the KPK will arrest additional suspects in this case. HUME