Jakarta. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has banned former Justice Minister Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly and fellow Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) executive Hasto Kristiyanto from traveling abroad.

The ban was imposed to support the ongoing investigation into PDI-P politicians who have allegedly bribed a senior election official to secure a parliamentary seat for graft fugitive Harun Masiku, KPK spokesman Tessa Mahardhika said on Wednesday.

Hasto, the PDI-P secretary-general, was named a corruption suspect a day earlier for his alleged role in the bribery scheme and enabling Harun to flee justice.

Yasonna, whose past job as the justice minister included overseeing immigration, has been interrogated by KPK as a witness in the scandal. He now serves as a member of the PDI-P central committee.

“The travel ban applies for six months,” Tessa said. Both Yasonna and Hasto are required to stay in the country for further interrogations, he added.

The scandal stemmed from efforts to help Harun claim a House of Representatives seat left vacant by the death of an elected PDI-P lawmaker following the 2019 elections. Hasto and co-conspirators allegedly bribed Wahyu Setiawan, a commissioner of the General Election Commission (KPU) from 2017 to 2022, to bypass electoral rules.

According to Indonesia’s election laws, the vacated seat should have gone to the second-highest vote-getter from the same party in the electoral district. Harun, however, was ranked third in the elections.

When KPK began to investigate the case in 2020, Hasto urged Harun to destroy his cellphone and flee the country, according to the KPK investigation.

Harun fled Indonesia in January 2020, just as the KPK began its investigation, and has since been listed as a fugitive. 

Reports have suggested he might be hiding abroad, with law enforcement agencies struggling to locate him. 

Wahyu, the disgraced election official, was convicted of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison in August 2020.

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