More than half of councilors who had seats in the Jambi Province Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD Jambi) during the 2014-2019 term have been arrested on suspicion of receiving bribes, following dozens more who were previously convicted in the same case.
In a press conference this week, the Corruption Eradication Council (KPK) announced that they have named 28 Jambi representatives as suspects for receiving bribes related to the approval of the province’s budget for 2017 and 2018.
The council holds 55 seats.
KPK previously arrested 24 people in connection with this case, including 13 other DPRD Jambi councilors and then-Jambi Governor Zumi Zola. The 42-year-old actor-turned-politician was sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 for bribery, and was released on parole in September 2022.
During Zumi’s trial, the Corruption Court found that he gave between IDR100 million (US$6,597) and IDR400 million (US$26,388) each to 53 DPRD councilors to approve budgets for infrastructure projects worth billions of rupiah.
Under Indonesia’s Anti-Corruption Law, the councilors may each face up to five years in prison and be fined up to IDR250 million (US$16,492) for receiving bribes.
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