Hotman Paris Denies Extortion Allegations Against Former Deputy Attorney General

Lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea has vehemently denied accusations that his client, former Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Febrie Adriansyah, accepted Rp 50 billion in connection with the PT Asabri corruption case. Adriansyah has been named a suspect by the Indonesian National Police's Directorate for Corruption Crimes (Kortastipidkor) in three separate corruption investigations.

The cases involve alleged corruption at PT Asabri, PT Krakatau Steel, and a coal supply issue that led to power outages in Sumatra. Adriansyah's colleague, lawyer Don Ritto, also faces suspect status in the same cases. The PT Asabri corruption case, specifically its second phase investigated by the Attorney General's Office in 2020, is central to the police's allegations against Adriansyah, who was then the Director of Investigation.

According to a Tempo magazine report, police discovered an alleged extortion attempt of S$5 million (approximately Rp 55 billion at the time) aimed at allowing individuals to evade charges in the PT Asabri case. Ferry Hongkiriwang reportedly acted as an intermediary, receiving Rp 5 billion, with the remainder allegedly going to an envoy named Nurman Herin, who represented Adriansyah. Hotman Paris has dismissed these claims, asserting that no money was ever transferred to Febrie Adriansyah, either directly or indirectly.

Hotman Paris further argued that Adriansyah was not the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes when the alleged extortion occurred; he assumed that position in January 2022. Hotman also pointed out that the PT Asabri case had already reached a legally binding conclusion, with Tan Kian, a businessman involved, having testified as a witness. Investigators reportedly searched several locations, including Kafe d’Clan Signature in South Jakarta, which Adriansyah was known to frequent.