JAKARTA: Vice president-elect and former mayor of Surakarta Gibran Rakabuming Raka (pic) denied on Tuesday (Sept 10) that e-commerce giant Shopee provided a jet ride for his younger brother Kaesang Pangarep as a favour in return for a deal struck between the Central Java city and the Singapore-based company.
Gibran said there was nothing improper about the deal, which centered on the setting up of a gaming center and an office in Surakarta, and that it had gone through a thorough vetting process.
"It's not true. You're wrong. The memorandum of understanding is a professional agreement between the Solo city administration, Solo TechnoPark and Shopee. There's nothing like that," Gibran told reporters as quoted by KompasTV.
In late August, Kaesang's wife Erina Gudono posted on Instagram photos from her trip to California, the United States including a shot from the window of an aircraft, which social media users pointed out to be that of a Gulfstream jet.
The same jet had also earlier been spotted on the tarmac of Adi Sumarmo International Airport in Surakarta, the hometown of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
A video shot last year shows Kaesang and his wife deplaning the aircraft.
On X, netizens pointed out that the jet – a Gulfstream G650ER with tail number N588SE – was owned by Garena Online, a company under Singapore-based Sea Limited, which also owns Shopee.
However, the US Federal Aviation Administration’s website shows that it is currently owned by a trustee of the Bank of Utah.
Aviation website RZJets indicates the aircraft was delivered to Garena in July 2021, before it was bought by the Bank of Utah trustee in December 2022. - The Jakarta Post
[Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the current ownership of the Gulfstream G650ER private jet.]
