Law

The legal issues that follow Waskita Karya are getting more complicated. In the middle of this year we know that tycoon Edwin Soeryadjaya et al filed a lawsuit against the company in a dispute related to construction work for the Indian Embassy office to the East Jakarta District Court. What the public did not realize, two months earlier Edwin et al had filed a lawsuit to the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN Jakarta) against the Head of the Jakarta Capital Investment and One Stop Integrated Services Department. The allegation is that there was manipulation in the provision of permits for the said construction work. The lawsuit was granted by the PTUN in the last week of August 2024 but complications followed as the lawsuit in East Jakarta District Court was declared cannot be accepted in October 2024. However, nothing is simple in Indonesia. Recently the decision of the PTUN was upheld by the State Administrative High Court (PTTUN). This means the disputed permits must be revoked and the permit issuance must be redo, despite the decision of the district court. That said, what will happen if construction has already started?

Years ago, the POLRI named two suspects in the case of alleged embezzlement related to the dispute on debt-claiming rights (cessie) involving PT Geria Wijaya Prestige (PT GWP). The announcement is only the beginning of more complicated matters. Lawsuits after lawsuits came into four different courts in two different provinces. One advocate was sentenced to contempt of court, several key persons were sentenced to the predicate crime, but the most important thing has not been resolved. The two suspects previously named by the POLRI have not even been tried, and the disputed assets are still being disputed. The Ministry of Finance has tried to auction the assets twice but failed both attempts. We learned that a new lawsuit was registered again to the South Jakarta District Court in 2022 but has since lost track of the case. Recently, we learned that there is already a legally binding decision. Unfortunately, considering the sensitivity of the dispute, there are nearly no documents made available to the public.

Unlike its grand revelation, the court proceedings into the case of alleged corruption related to the tin trading system carried out in the Mining Business License (IUP) area owned by PT Timah Tbk (TINS) no longer attracts public attention. As per this week, 18 suspects in two different cases have faced the prosecution stage, four of whom had been convicted and several defendants had listened to the prosecutors’ demands, including Helena Lim. 

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) began 2024 with a Sting Operation in East Java. This time, the KPK succeeded in securing a number of parties and uncovering a case of alleged corruption in Sidoarjo. After the initial investigation, interestingly, the KPK only named one suspect. After a couple of weeks, the KPK named a new suspect. The decision by then is interesting because the chronology of events reveals allegations that the proceeds of corruption were used for the Regent’s interests, but the Regent is still a free man, until three months later in April 2024. The KPK finally announced that they had named the Regent as suspects. This week, nearly a year after the operation was conducted, Muhdlor finally listened to the prosecutors’ demands against him.

Over six years ago, towards the end of 2018, a Singapore-based consultancy firm, Mitora Pte Ltd, filed a lawsuit against Yayasan Harapan Kita and the children of the late President Soeharto. The heart of the dispute was related to the management of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII). The parties managed to resolve the case with agreement not long after and the lawsuit was dropped. However, in 2021, Mitora filed a similar lawsuit, this time the lawsuit focuses on the Yayasan Purna Bhakti Pertiwi and is still targeting Soeharto’s children. The lawsuit was again withdrawn. We have been wondering what happened to the dispute because we did not hear any developments between the parties until this year. Mitora filed their latest lawsuit last month and the dispute finally gained attention. 

In the midst of the investigation into the PT Timah corruption scandal that ensnared various high-profile figures, we know that one of the suspects, Alwin Albar, had previously been named a suspect in another alleged corruption case. The case also allegedly occurred during Alwin Albar’s tenure as director at PT Timah and thus we are convinced that the management of the company and the tin industry have very serious problems. Apart from that, our law enforcement system also needs to be questioned. Prosecutors demanded that Alwin Albar be sentenced to 14 years in prison, but he was only sentenced to three years in prison.

It has been five years since the COVID-19 outbreak shook the world, all sectors are still struggling to recover and all parties are still trying to resolve their respective financial problems, including through the debt restructuring process. Among all the companies that have gone through this process is PT Widodo Makmur Unggas Tbk (WMUU). In early November 2024, the company faced a lawsuit from one of its business partners, this was the sixth PKPU lawsuit the company had faced in the past two years, five of which were registered in 2024. Recently, the company was able to resolve one of the remaining problems.

The land acquisition process for the DP 0% housing program, which was the flagship program of then Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, was very flawed and carried out without proper supervision so that many parties could intervene and take advantage. The program ended with four criminal investigations and ensnare individual and corporate suspects, including Yoory Corneles Pinontoan, the former president director of the Regional Public Corporation Pembangunan Sarana Jaya (PD Sarana Jaya). Recently, the prosecutors read their demands for Yoory in the latest case.

After announcing the new suspect from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) recently announced that they had named four new suspects in a case of corruption implicating the Directorate General of Railways at the Ministry of Transportation. All suspects have been detained. The case interestingly keeps developing.

We all know that apart from the cases of alleged corruption concerning railway projects which were investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), there is also a different case investigated by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). The implicated project is located along the northern part of Sumatera and, far from media coverage, the court proceedings have ended. All seven defendants have been found guilty this week.