To Handle Case at Supreme Court, Zarof Ricar Asks Lisa Rachmat for IDR 15 Billion

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - Former Supreme Court official who was a defendant in the Ronald Tannur acquittal bribery case, Zarof Ricar, is said to have asked lawyer Lisa Rachmat for Rp 15 billion in return for handling the case at the Supreme Court. Not only that, Zarof is said to have received money twice at his house, namely 166,000 Singapore dollars (around Rp 2 billion) and 84,000 Singapore dollars (around Rp 1 billion).

This information was revealed in the follow-up trial of the alleged bribery case in the handling of the Ronald Tannur case with defendants Erintuah Damanik, Mangapul, and Heru Hanindyo at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Tuesday (18/2/2025).

In the trial led by Chief Justice Teguh Santoso, the public prosecutor presented a witness named Stephanie Christel (21), the niece of defendant Lisa Rachmat, who had interned at Lisa Rachmat's law firm, namely Lisa Associate Legal Consultant.

In her testimony, Stephanie said that she knew Zarof Ricar. Stephanie admitted that she had visited Zarof's house in the Senayan area, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta several times. At that time, Stephanie knew that Lisa was Ronald Tannur's attorney. "Mrs. Lisa said, (Zarof Ricar is) the former secretary of the Supreme Court," said Stephanie when asked about Zarof Ricar.

According to Stephanie, her visits to Zarof's house were sometimes done with Lisa Rachmat and sometimes alone. Her needs to go there were also different, such as being invited by Lisa Rachmat, being asked by Lisa to deliver food, deliver ginger, to delivering money. Although she does not remember how many times she visited Zarof's house, Stephanie admitted that at least throughout 2024, she went there once a month.

When asked about the visit to Zarof's house to handle Ronald Tannur's case, according to Stephanie, what she heard was the handling at the Supreme Court. Coincidentally, at that time she was invited into the room so she heard the conversation between Lisa Rachmat and Zarof Ricar.

"What Stef (Stephanie) knows is not about (Ronald Tannur's) release, but about (the handling of) it to the Supreme Court. What Stef remembers is that there were deals with Mr. Zarof. Mr. Zarof mentioned a nominal amount to handle it to his friend. As far as I remember, it was Rp. 15 billion. Then, (Lisa said) don't, Sir, it's too expensive. Finally, it was negotiated to Rp. 5 billion. Finally, it was a deal," said Stephanie.

According to Stephanie, she had delivered money to Zarof Ricar's house twice. The first time she delivered 166,000 Singapore dollars and the next time 84,000 Singapore dollars. The delivery was made several months after the conversation between Lisa and Zarof regarding the handling of the case at the Supreme Court.

In relation to this, Stephanie admitted that Lisa had asked her several times to pick up money from money changers and from money changers who delivered money to Lisa's apartment in the Menteng area, Jakarta.

In addition to the amount of 166,000 Singapore dollars and 84,000 Singapore dollars, Stephanie was asked to take an average of 50,000 Singapore dollars. However, Stephanie admitted that she did not know whether the handover of money to Zarof Ricar's house was related to the agreement on the cost of administration at the Supreme Court of Rp 5 billion between Lisa and Zarof.

In addition, Stephanie admitted that she did not follow the Ronald Tannur case handled by the Surabaya District Court. Stephanie also said that Lisa never invited her to talk about the case.

Regarding Stephanie's statement, defendants Erintuah Damanik, Mangapul, and Heru stated that they did not object. Because, the statement was considered unrelated to the charges against them.