Jakarta. Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Chairman Firli Bahuri has been named a suspect in the ongoing extortion investigation by the Jakarta Police.

Firly is alleged to have blackmailed former Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo, who is now being detained by the KPK under corruption charges.

The shock announcement late on Wednesday was made by Chief Comr. Ade Safri Simanjuntak, director of special crimes investigation with the Jakarta Police.

Ade said investigators have collected incriminating evidence such as documents of “foreign currency transactions worth Rp 7.4 billion” after conducting searches at Firli’s houses in Bekasi and South Jakarta.

"There are documents of transactions involving American and Singaporean banknotes at several money changers worth Rp 7,468,711.500 dated between February 2021 and September 2023," Ade told reporters in Jakarta.

The decision to implicate Firli with criminal charges came after police interrogated 91 witnesses, he added.

The investigation began after Syahrul filed a complaint with the police, alleging that Firli had demanded bribes before his designation as a corruption suspect and subsequent detention by the KPK.

Syahrul stands accused of illicitly amassing substantial funds from ministry officials in return for promotions during his tenure.

Incidents suggested meetings between Syahrul and Firli at various locations, including Firli's rented residence in South Jakarta. However, neither Syahrul nor the police have elaborated on the specifics of the extortion claims involving Firli, who has denied any wrongdoing.

The KPK is an ad-hoc body introduced in 2004 to tackle corruption, labeled as an “extra-ordinary crime” in the country, and has since prosecuted many active cabinet members, lawmakers, governors, regents, mayors, and other top government officials for stealing money from the state.

The commission’s rapidly growing influence often caused conflicts with other law enforcement agencies.

Firli is not the first KPK chairman to confront a criminal probe by the police. In May 2009, Antasari Azhar was arrested and accused of orchestrating a businessman's murder. Eventually, he was convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Abraham Samad, another KPK chairman, faced police arrest in February 2015 over alleged document forgery. This followed a contentious episode where the KPK swiftly implicated police general Budi Gunawan as a corruption suspect soon after President Joko Widodo nominated him for National Police Chief.

Budi successfully cleared his name through a pre-trial motion at the South Jakarta District Court while Abraham was later removed from his KPK chairmanship by the president due to his own legal trouble.

In March 2016, the Attorney General's Office decided to drop the criminal investigation against Abraham and his deputy Bambang Widjojanto, who faced previous accusations of witness tampering during his legal profession. The decision cited their contributions to the nation's anti-corruption efforts.

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