Former CEO of state-owned airliner Garuda Indonesia has been arrested on charges of money laundering.
According to anti-graft investigators, Emirsyah Satar has been involved in a major corruption scandal that saw British engine-maker Rolls-Royce pay more than US$800million in fines.
His arrest came two years after he was named as suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for allegedly receiving funds from Rolls-Royce in exchange for buying planes fitted with its engines. Emirsyah has been accused of accepting sums of €1.2million (US$1.4 million) and US$180,000 in cash from 2005 to 2014.
According to the KPK, the charges are linked to contracts which Garuda signed with Rolls-Royce and three other aviation manufacturers – France’s Airbus, Avions de Transport Regional (ATR), and Canada’s Bombardier – during Emirsyah’s time as CEO.
The KPK also said that it had confiscated a home in Jakarta related to the case. However, Emirsyah has denied the money-laundering allegations via his lawyer.
“After the investigation started, he realised that as a state employee he should not have received anything, so he returned the money,” lawyer Luhut Pangaribuan commented.
Source: AFP
Image: Merdeka.com