April 27, 2026 | 10:08 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former Head of the Defense Facilities Agency at the Defense Ministry, Leonardi, is currently on trial at the High Military Court II in Jakarta. He is charged in a corruption case involving the 123 degrees East Longitude orbital slot satellite project for the 2012-2021 period. Leonardi is accused of causing state losses of Rp306 billion for signing a procurement contract with Navayo International AG that allegedly violated government procurement rules.
During the trial, Leonardi has asked the panel of judges to summon former Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu and former President Joko Widodo. He maintains that he merely carried out orders from his superiors. The following are excerpts from an interview with Leonardi’s lawyer, Rinto Maha, conducted by Tempo reporters Febriyan, Lani Diana, Hanin Marwah, and Fajar Pebrianto in South Jakarta on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.
Why did your client request that Jokowi and Ryamizard be questioned?
My client only executed the contract between the vendor and the Defense Ministry after the procurement winner had been determined. When he signed the contract in October 2016, he certainly sought approval from his superior, he did not just sign it arbitrarily. He asked Ryamizard at the time. Since it was approved, he proceeded. There is a written disposition for it.
(Tempo has sent interview requests to Ryamizard at two residential addresses and to his wife’s office. As of Friday, April 17, 2026, there has been no response.)
So who should be held responsible?
At the time, there was Defense Minister Regulation No. 17/2014 on the Procurement of Primary Weapon Systems within the Defense Ministry and the Indonesian Military. For procurements valued at Rp100 billion and above, the authority to appoint the winner lies with the budget user, namely the minister. My client was only an echelon IB official. He was not the decision-maker, he merely executed orders. Use common sense. Is it reasonable that only my client goes to prison? If there is a problem, then responsibility should be shared.
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