Ex-Indonesian Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi Gets 7 Years in Jail

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Anti-Corruption Court (Tipikor) sentenced former Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi to seven years in jail and a Rp. 400 million fine for accepting Rp. 11.5 billion ($ 806,494.02) in kickbacks. 

Imam continued to claim innocence following his sentencing in a virtual hearing on Monday, June 29.

Imam maintained that he never accepted the bribes from then National Sports Council or KONI former Secretary General Ending Fuad Hamidy and Treasurer Johnny F. Awuy to speed up a grant to hold athletic events such as the 2018 Asian Games and Asian Para Games.

Also read: Former Minister Plans to Cut Deal With Prosecutors in Indonesia's Sports Council Scandal

"[My defense counsel and I] hope that the authorities will [get to the bottom of the case],” he said. “For now I will consider the facts of the case before appealing the sentence.” 

Public prosecutors also considered appealing Imam’s verdict, which is lighter than the 10 years and Rp. 500 million they advocated.

Additional penalties

Aside from sentencing Imam to seven years in prison, the court also banned Imam from running for public office over a four-year period, dating from his prison release. In addition to prison, the court ordered Imam to pay the Rp 18,154,230,882 that the case cost the state.

Imam has explored other options to prove his innocence. They include offering to be a 'Justice Collaborator' for the Attorney General's Office and the Corruption Eradication Commission or KPK.

Also read: KPK Demands 10 Year Sentence for Disgraced Former Minister

Prosecutors and investigators have alleged that Imam accepted the kickbacks from Ending and Johnny while serving as sports minister during President Joko Widodo’s first term between 2014 and 2019.

The Tipikor already sentenced Imam’s assistant Miftahul Ulum to four years in jail for his complicity in the case. The scandal also incriminated other Indonesian sports figures, among them former badminton great Taufik Hidayat. 

(Writer: Ardito Ramadhan/Editor : Kristian Erdianto, Icha Rastika)

Sources: 

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/06/29/20120281/divonis-7-tahun-penjara-imam-nahrawi-bantah-terima-suap-rp-115-miliar. 
https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/06/29/18535581/imam-nahrawi-divonis-bersalah-hak-politiknya-dicabut-dan-denda-rp-18-miliar.