[hanomantoto]

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Tom Lembong‘s legal team, led by Zaid Mushafi, is gearing up to challenge the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) in a pretrial hearing. They intend to present several expert witnesses to expose alleged errors made by the AGO in designating their client as a suspect.

“Of course, we will present financial experts, state administration experts, and legal experts during the pretrial hearing,” Zaid said after filing the pretrial lawsuit at the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

However, he declined to disclose the specific names of the expert witnesses but assured that they would be revealed in due course. The legal team is now awaiting the court’s summons for the pretrial hearing, which is registered under case number 113/Pid.Pra/2024/PN.Jkt.Sel.

Tom Lembong’s legal team contends that the AGO’s decision to name Tom as a suspect in the sugar import corruption case is unfounded. The AGO detained Tom on October 29.

Tom Lembong Case Chronology

On October 29, 2024, the AGO officially named Tom Lembong as a suspect in the alleged sugar import corruption case, stemming from his tenure as Trade Minister from 2015 to 2016 under President Jokowi’s leadership. The AGO suspects Tom of issuing permits for the import of 105,000 tons of raw crystal sugar to PT AP, which was subsequently processed into white crystal sugar.

For the purposes of the investigation, Tom was detained at the Salemba Detention Center for 20 days, based on Detention Order Number 50 dated October 29, 2024. Following a 10-hour interrogation at the AGO on October 29, Tom was seen leaving the building wearing a pink detention vest.

Tom’s legal team, represented by Ari Yusuf Amir, revealed that the interrogation primarily focused on sugar import permit letters. They emphasized that Tom maintained that these letters were processed through a systematic procedure within the Ministry of Trade.

Subsequently, TomLembong’s legal team initiated a pretrial lawsuit to challenge the AGO’s decision. Ari confirmed that they had been diligently gathering evidence to support their legal action.

SUKMA KANTHI NURANI | SULTAN ABDURRAHMAN | NOVALI PANJI NUGROHO | KHUMAR MAHENDRA

Editor’s Choice: Profile of Tom Lembong, Former Trade Minister Who Became Suspect in Sugar Import Corruption Case

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