Bank of Indonesia Denies Printing Special Money for The Wedding of Jokowi's Son

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - Bank of Indonesia is facing allegations that they printed special money for the wedding of President Joko Widodo's youngest child, Kaesang Pangarep (27). Sharp criticism also comes from the former Minister for Finance Rizal Ramli. 

Kaesang presented three special banknotes as parts of dowry for his wife Erina Gudono (25) in their wedding. However, the banknotes contain special numbers. 

The first one shows Kaesang's initials and his birthday. The second one shows Erina Gudono's initials and her birthday. The third one shows their couple initials and their wedding date. 

Criticism erupts because the central bank is accused of being involved with the wedding of the President Joko Widodo's son.

Former Minister for Finance Rizal Ramli tweeted criticism to the central bank and their independence. He also criticized the directors of Bank of Indonesia for "passionate bootlicking" and behaving like "royal cashier".

Bank of Indonesia, however, strongly denies they specifically printed the three special banknotes. The official from the bank said they got those banknotes from the bank's treasury.

The official explained the special letters and numbers that show the couples' initials, birthdays, couple initials, and wedding date are just the results of the algorithm.

"The printed rupiah banknotes were next stored at the treasury of Bank of Indonesia to be the reserve of national money and fulfill the requirement of cash service," said Erwin Haryono, Director of Communication at the Bank of Indonesia.

The bank also says they only provide special banknotes for special national events related to the country's sovereignty. 

Previously, several ministers were also directly involved in the preparation of Kaesang's wedding. They were seen coming to inspect the wedding venue in Solo. 

Minister for State-Owned Enterprises, Erick Thohir, also led the committee to organize Kaesang's wedding. Erick said he treats Kaesang like his own nephew. 

Minister for Investment Bahlil Lahadalia also became part of the committee.

Since his father became the president, Kaesang is focusing in opening various businesses. He mostly focuses on the culinary. 

Despite his youth, Kaesang is a masterful investor. In 2020, Kaesang correctly predicted that the stocks of a state-owned pharmacy company would "take off". Later that day, his father announced the COVID-19 vaccine program and the pharmacy stocks were going up.

In a recent interview, Kaesang said his success comes from his analytical ability to understand the fundamentals and finance.

Kaesang and Minister Erick are also business partners. They own the football club in Solo. Meanwhile, Kaesang's wife is a former official at the Bank of Indonesia. She now works as an analyst at J.P. Morgan.

Natasha Khairunisa Amani contributed to this report.