Indonesia Jails Ex-Parliament Speaker for 15 Years over Graft
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Indonesian court on Tuesday sentenced the former speaker of parliament, Setya Novanto, to 15 years in jail for his role in causing state losses of around $170 million, linked to a national electronic identity card scheme.
Yanto, the head of a panel of five judges, also said Novanto would be fined 500 million rupiah ($36,000)and barred from public office for five years after serving his sentence.
Novanto said he would consider whether to launch an appeal.
The sentence was considered a victory for an ongoing clamp-down on widespread corruption in Indonesia.
Setya, once among the country’s most influential politicians, had been accused of taking millions in kickbacks and bribes linked to the national roll-out of government ID cards.
His months-long trial came after a string of maneuvers – including allegedly faking an injury in a car crash – that critics say the 62-year-old used to dodge serious charges.
