Harvey Moeis (right, in pink vest) is escorted out of a courtroom on Dec 23, 2024, after the Jakarta Corruption Court found him guilty of graft. - Kompas
JAKARTA: The Jakarta Corruption Court has handed down a sentence of six years and six months in prison to Harvey Moeis, a coal businessman and husband of actress Sandra Dewi, after the judicial panel found him guilty of corruption and money laundering in a massive case involving state-owned tin miner PT Timah.
"The defendant Harvey Moeis has been proven guilty of committing corruption and money laundering [along with the other defendants]," presiding judge Eko Ariyanto said on Monday in reading out the verdict, as quoted by kompas.id.
"The court also ordered Harvey to pay a fine of Rp 1 billion (US$ 61,731) or serve an additional six months in prison. He must also pay restitution of Rp 210 billion, or his assets could be confiscated. If the seized assets fall short of the required amount, he must serve another two years in prison.
Excepting the Rp 210 billion in restitution, the sentence is lighter than the prosecutor's demand of 12 years’ imprisonment and a Rp 1 billion fine or another year in prison.
In their consideration, the judges said the prosecutor’s sentence demand was too harsh in view of the offences for which Harvey had been convicted in his role as a representative of PT Refined Bangka Timah (RBT), and not a commissioner, director or shareholder.
Harvey was proven to be the link between RBT and PT Timah in the corruption case, as RBT was operating under the state-owned tin giant’s mining permit (IUP) and sold its products to PT Timah.
During Monday’s hearing, the court also handed down sentences to codefendants Suparta and Reza Andriansyah, respectively RBT’s president director and business development director.
Suparta was sentenced to eight years, a Rp 1 billion fine or six additional months in prison and Rp 4.57 trillion in restitution or six additional years in prison, while Reza was sentenced to five years and a Rp 750 million fine, or serve another three months in prison.
The sentences handed down to Suparta and Reza are both lighter than the prosecutor’s respective demands of 14 years and eight years.
PT Timah, which has the largest tin mining concessions in the country, has been embroiled in a massive corruption case that has accused former executives of facilitating illegal mining activities in its areas of operation between 2015 and 2022.
The scandal involves 22 suspects, including state officials and high-profile businesspeople, of which at least six have been sentenced.
The corruption court has estimated that the case has caused losses to the state totaling Rp 300 trillion, comprising Rp 2.28 trillion from the irregular lease of tin processing equipment, Rp 26.65 trillion in payments made to illegal miners and Rp 271.07 trillion in environmental damage. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
