OOCRP finally clarifies after including Jokowi in the list of most corrupt personalities 2024

JATIM TIME – The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has finally provided clarification regarding the inclusion of the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo or Jokowi, on the list of the most corrupt figures in 2024.

As is known, the inclusion of Jokowi as one of the most corrupt finalists in the OCCRP version sparked a number of protests from various parties.

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One of the protests came from Jokowi's supporters. General Chairman of Jokowi Mania Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan or Noel said Jokowi's entry into the OCCRP nomination was an action carried out by vote and in a manipulative manner.

The credibility and neutrality of the OCCRP evaluation team are highly questionable, as evidenced by their inconsequential evaluation results. What did Jokowi corrupt? said Noel in his statement, Wednesday (1/1/2025).

“We should be wary of the OCCRP evaluation results, as some say OCCRP draws conclusions based on nominations/votes from readers and journalists around the world. Determining finalists depends on input from the public, readers, journalists and other parties related to OCCRP,” he continued.

In response to various protests, OCCRP denied that it determines appointments through voting.

“Nominations are not determined by voting. Our panel reviews (searches) all nominations, but the final decision is in the hands of the judges. This is not a popularity contest,” OCCRP wrote, as cited in his X account, Friday (3/1/2025).

This year, the jury chose Bashar al-Assad, citing generations of cross-border chaos and destruction caused by his regime in the Middle East, he added.

According to OCCRP, it takes into account the overall perspective of damage caused by corruption or crime for each named character.

“We investigate corruption, crime and their impact on life and democracy,” writes the OCCRP report.

We have extensive experience working with whistleblowers and handling leaks of sensitive information. Our surveys are global collaborations. OCCRP journalists exposed corruption, tracked cross-border financial flows and uncovered complex financial transactions, he noted.

As is known, OCCRP published a list including the names of Jokowi, Kenyan President William Ruto, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian businessman Gautam Adani.

The list was compiled after OCCRP solicited nominations from readers, journalists, judges and others in its global network.

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OCCRP, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, has been collecting nominations via Google Form since Friday (11/22/2024).

Among these nominations, former Syrian President Bashar Al Assad was declared 2024 Person of the Year in the category of organizational crime and corruption.

In full, here is the list of the most corrupt leaders in 2024 according to the OOCRP:

1. Former Syrian President, Bashar Al Assad

2. Kenyan President William Ruto

3. 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi)

4. Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

5. Former Prime Minister (PM) of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina

6. Indian entrepreneur Gautam Adani.