Indonesia’s State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi says investigators need no special presidential approval to question former Jampidsus Febrie Adriansyah. He urged the public not to link President Prabowo Subianto to the ongoing corruption and money-laundering investigation. This comes after Febrie’s lawyer publicly challenged the process and alleged political unfairness in the case.

JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi has rejected suggestions that law enforcement authorities need President Prabowo Subianto’s permission to investigate former Assistant Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Febrie Adriansyah.

Speaking at the Nusantara III Building in Jakarta’s parliamentary complex on Monday, July 20, Prasetyo said authorities must handle the case independently. This should be done under Indonesia’s established legal procedures.

“Yes, we will return it to the legal process. Don’t associate it with the President either. We will fully return it to the applicable legal mechanism,” Prasetyo said.

He said authorities should allow the legal process to proceed independently. He urged the public not to link the case to President Prabowo.

Prasetyo gave a clear answer: investigators do not need special presidential approval to question or investigate a current or former senior prosecutor.

“It goes back to the mechanism. I don’t think the president needs to approve it while it’s still being examined,” he said.

Prasetyo was responding to remarks by Febrie’s lawyer, Hotman Paris Hutapea, who questioned why the investigation proceeded without the president’s consent.

Hotman described Febrie as an official previously trusted by Prabowo. He also accused National Police (Polri) Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo of criminalizing his client.

Hotman has not presented a court ruling supporting the criminalization allegation. Febrie, like every suspect, remains presumed innocent unless found guilty by a final and binding court judgment.

Investigators named Febrie a suspect in alleged corruption and money-laundering cases linked to the handling of the PT Asabri case and other matters.

Polri reported that the investigations also concerned alleged irregularities linked to coal governance and PT Krakatau Steel. The cases were subsequently transferred to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) for further investigation, according to ANTARA.

On Friday, July 17, Febrie underwent approximately 10 hours of questioning at the AGO. According to Hotman, investigators asked 18 questions, primarily about the Asabri case.

“Febrie answered all 18 questions well, and investigators decided not to detain him. They questioned him as a suspect but did not detain him today,” Hotman said.

The AGO said the decision not to detain Febrie was based on investigators’ assessment and remained within their authority. His release after questioning did not terminate the investigation, according to ANTARA.

The Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (Satgas PKH), which Febrie previously led, has also said it respects the proceedings. Furthermore, prosecutors have pledged to handle the case professionally while upholding legal certainty and the presumption of innocence, according to an official Polri report.