Setya Novanto (born 12 November 1955), colloquially referred to as Setnov, is an Indonesian former politician, presently serving a 15 year prison sentence for corruption.

After he was re-elected for a third time in the 2014 general election, won by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, he was appointed DPR (Parliament) Speaker by the majority opposition coalition.

The fifth of eight children, Setya Novanto was born on 12 November 1955 in the West Java capital of Bandung to Sewondo Mangunratsongko and Julia Maria Sulastri.

[6] While still a student, Setya founded a company called Mandar Teguh with Hartawan, the son of the director of Bank Rakyat Indonesia for Surabaya.

[9] After graduating from university in 1979, Setya worked for PT Anindya Cipta Perdana, a company variously described as a distributor of fertilizer, cement and building materials for East Nusa Tenggara province.

[10][11] The company was owned by Setya’s former high school classmate, Hayono Isman, who would later become youth affairs and sports minister under president Suharto.

PT Anindya Cipta Perdana reportedly failed after two years, but it led to Setya's long-running involvement with East Nusa Tenggara, which he would later represent as a legislator for four terms for Golkar Party.

[14] Setya’s business career took off after he married Luciana Lily Herliyanti, the daughter of West Java Police deputy chief Brigadier General Sudharsono.

He started managing his in-laws’ gas station in Cikokol, Tangerang, then branched out into livestock, contracting, buying and selling paper and textiles, and developing hotels and golf courses.

In 1991, Suharto’s eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Hastuti ‘Tutut’ Rukmana appointed Setya to lead PT Citra Permatasakti Persada (CPP), a company selected by police to make Indonesian driving licenses from 1992 to 1998.

[20] Setya chaired a committee that produced a 1996 book titled President Suharto's Management as Narrated by 17 Ministers (Manajemen Presiden Soeharto dalam Penuturan 17 Menteri).

He said the book was the result of two years of hard work and he hoped it would inspire Indonesia's younger generation to emulate the science and art of Suharto's management style.

He then announced that Golkar was now supporting the government of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, despite having backed Jokowi’s rival, Prabowo Subianto, in the 2014 presidential election.

[43] In 2004, about 1,000 tons of hazardous waste listed as fertilizer was shipped from Singapore to Indonesia’s Galang Island by PT Asia Pasific Eco Lestari, which was previously owned by Setya.

[46] In 2012, Setya and another Golkar legislator allegedly received Rp9 billion in bribes from the then-governor Riau province, Rusli Zainal, in return for facilitating the release of state budget funds for graft-ridden National Games projects.

[47] In 2014, Setya was linked to a corruption case involving former Constitutional Court chief Akil Mochtar, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for fixing the results of disputed elections.

Local media alleged that Setya helped to pay to uphold the victory of Golkar’s candidate in the 2009 East Java gubernatorial election.

[68] According to his lawyer, Fredrich Yunadi, Setya was outside Jakarta and returned on 16 November to the House of Representatives, where he called a Metro TV reporter, Hilman Mattauch, to come and interview him.

[69] A subsequent interview, relayed via a telephone call to Metro TV, was reportedly conducted in a black Toyota Fortuner vehicle owned and driven by Hilman.

[72] During the drive, the vehicle mounted a sidewalk alongside a canal on Permata Hijau Street and reportedly scraped the side of a tree before hitting a power pole.

He said Setya told him he had intended to meet some Golkar officials at Jakarta's Mandarin Hotel so they could accompany him to the KPK office, but then the car accident occurred.

[87] He was detained in a KPK cell measuring 2.5 x 5 meters, where his two cellmates were Rochmadi Saptogiri of the State Audit Agency and businessman Sujendi Tarsono alias Ayen.

[95] By March, he had returned Rp 5 billion (USD 350,000) and named other alleged recipients of E-KTP project bribes, including Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and cabinet members Puan Maharani and Pramono Anung.

[114] In March 2020, Fredrich filed a lawsuit at South Jakarta District Court, demanding Setya and his wife pay legal fees and interest amounting to Rp27 billion and non-material losses of Rp 2.256 trillion.

[115] On 16 July 2018, Setya's doctor, Bimanesh Sutarjo of private hospital Medika Permata Hijau, was sentenced to three years in jail for obstructing the KPK investigation.

On 10 October 2017, Setya's lawyer, Fredrich Yunadi, reported 32 social media accounts to police for allegedly defaming and slandering his client.

[123] In 2009, Setya founded the Novanto Center, an institution that carries out social, economic and community activities in East Nusa Tenggara, one of Indonesia's poorest provinces.

[125] Local activists claim the Novanto Center facilitated the entry of an iron ore mining company, PT Laki Tangguh, which was in 2013 reported to police for alleged fraud and crimes.

[126] In 2014, the director of the Novanto Center in Kupang, Muhammad Ansor, allegedly threatened a Tempo reporter, Yohanes Seo, for writing an article that listed some of Setya’s business investments in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

After interviewing Ansor, who is a local legislator for Golkar Party, Seo wrote an article headlined ‘The Business Octopus of Setya Novanto in NTT’.