Prominent lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea has joined the defense of former Assistant Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Febrie Adriansyah. He underwent questioning as a suspect in an alleged corruption and money-laundering case linked to PT Asabri. Authorities have stressed that the investigation remains ongoing. They also insisted that the presumption of innocence continues to apply.

JAKARTA, Thekabarnews.com—Prominent Indonesian lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea has officially joined the legal team. This team represents former Assistant Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Febrie Adriansyah in an alleged corruption and money-laundering case linked to state-owned insurer PT Asabri.

Hotman arrived with members of his legal team at the Attorney General’s Office’s Gedung Bundar complex at approximately 9:45 a.m. Jakarta time on Friday, July 17. They entered through the basement before accompanying Febrie during questioning.

“Yes, the power of attorney has been granted for me to provide legal assistance to Febrie,” Hotman told Tirto.

Hotman said he received the authorization letter on Friday morning and immediately attended Febrie’s first questioning as a suspect. Febrie was reportedly already inside the building before journalists arrived.

Police investigators named Febrie a suspect on July 11. They transferred the investigation and supporting evidence to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).

AGO spokesperson Anang Supriatna clarified on Friday that Febrie’s current suspect status relates to an alleged corruption and money-laundering case. This case is connected to PT Asabri.

“Based on the investigation order from the National Police’s Corruption Eradication Corps, the suspect designation concerns one case related to money laundering and Asabri,” Anang said, as reported by Tirto.

Anang confirmed that AGO investigators had summoned Febrie for questioning as a suspect. Investigations into separate matters involving coal supplies for power plants and PT Krakatau Steel remain at the general-investigation stage. Therefore, authorities have yet to announce suspects in those cases.

The AGO previously confirmed that Febrie resigned as deputy attorney general for special crimes on July 11. The institution said it made the decision to protect the legal process’s integrity, objectivity, and neutrality. Meanwhile, officials emphasized the presumption of innocence.

The new investigation concerns the handling of the major PT Asabri corruption case. The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) calculated that irregularities in Asabri’s financial and investment management between 2012 and 2019 caused Rp22.78 trillion in state losses.

According to the BPK investigative audit, the original losses came from investments in high-risk and illiquid shares. Additionally, mutual funds that did not benefit Asabri caused the losses.

That Rp22.78 trillion figure concerns the original Asabri investment scandal. Readers should not interpret it as the value of losses allegedly attributable to Febrie. Investigators have not publicly established such an amount in the current case.

As of Friday afternoon, Hotman and his team remained at the AGO while the questioning continued. No court has convicted Febrie, and Indonesia’s criminal justice process must still test the allegations against him.