JAKARTA, Literasihukum.com — The Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) investigators continue to investigate the alleged judicial mafia case involving the former Head of the Surabaya District Court, Rudi Suparmono. The discovery of cash of up to Rp 21 billion at Rudi's residence further strengthens the indication of a systemic corruption network within the judiciary.

Rudi Suparmono is suspected of arranging the composition of judges to acquit the defendant in a severe abuse case, Ronald Tannur. Searches at two locations, namely in Central Jakarta and Palembang, also revealed evidence in the form of rupiah, US dollar, and Singapore dollar denominations, with a total far exceeding the initial alleged bribe amount of only around Rp 514 million.

Similar findings also occurred in the investigation of the Zarof Ricar case, a former official of the Supreme Court, who had previously been named a suspect. From Zarof's house, investigators confiscated cash and gold worth almost Rp 1 trillion. The tracing of the source of funds and gold is still ongoing.

According to a researcher from the Center for Anti-Corruption Studies at Gadjah Mada University, Zaenur Rohman, this case shows how deeply rooted the practice of judicial mafia is in Indonesia. Zaenur urged the Supreme Court to use this momentum as an initial step for internal reform. He also reminded the importance of stronger external supervision from the Judicial Commission (KY) to suppress corruption among law enforcement officials.

Criminal law lecturer at Trisakti University, Abdul Fickar Hadjar, added that this case reflects systemic problems. He suggested that the Supreme Court immediately impose strict sanctions and improve the judge recruitment process to ensure that only individuals with integrity can occupy important positions in the court. The KY is also expected to be more active in establishing cooperation with NGOs to monitor the performance of judges more effectively. Fickar.