Jakarta, Indonesianpost.com — Former Trade Minister Tom Lembong’s legal team is set to file a pretrial motion against the Attorney General’s Office’s decision to designate him a suspect in a corruption case related to sugar imports during his term from 2015 to 2016.
Speaking at a press conference in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, on Monday, November 4, 2024, Tom’s attorney, Ari Yusuf Amir, confirmed preparations for the lawsuit. “Since taking on this case, we have carefully gathered evidence to support our pretrial motion,” he stated.
The motion will argue that the Attorney General’s Office breached proper legal procedure by not substantiating its decision with adequate evidence. According to Ari, investigators are required to present two pieces of evidence to the suspect and justify the grounds for the designation. He claims that the Attorney General’s Office has yet to clarify the evidence linking Tom to the alleged corruption.
Ari also raised concerns about the timeline cited in the case, which spans from 2015 to 2023, though Tom’s tenure as trade minister concluded in 2016. “These discrepancies have prompted us to pursue a pretrial motion seriously,” he emphasized.
While Ari refrained from providing an exact date for filing the motion, he assured that an announcement would follow soon. Tom Lembong was named a suspect on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, and subsequently detained for 20 days by the Attorney General’s Office. He is currently held at the South Jakarta District Attorney’s Office’s Salemba detention center.