At first, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) objected to the court decision but later learned that nothing much could be done. Therefore, the AGO eventually accepted and re-registered the dockets by the end of August 2021. The indictment, in short, states that the companies had acted as Investment managers in the period between 2008 and 2018. They agreed and carried out the management of the purchase and sale of financial instruments underlying the Mutual Fund products owned by Asuransi Jiwasraya to be controlled by Heru Hidayat and Benny Tjokrosaputro through Joko Hartono Tirto and Peter Rasiman. The companies received compensation in return for their services.

Trial of corporate suspects in the corruption case involving State-owned insurance company PT Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero) continues. Several companies have been found guilty, some have decided on appeals, and the remaining corporate defendants are still waiting their turn. Unfortunately, the case, which started as a large-scale disclosure, did not produce the expected results. Most of the charges on suspicion of money laundering committed by the companies were not granted.

The Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) recently stated that the institution has taken action against at least 1,210 cases of environmental and forestry crimes, including illegal logging in recent years. The latest is the in absentia trial on several companies who committed illegal logging which has made history because it has never happened before. The performance of this institution should be appreciated, but even so, there are also decisions made by the institution which raises complaints from many parties.

Five years ago, PT Tehate Putra Tunggal (PT TPT), a partner of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) (PT PLN), and its subsidiary PT Trimaten Gemilang (Trimaten), escaped bankruptcy after they were able to resolve their period of Suspension of Debts Payments (PKPU) peacefully. Since then, the companies has kept a low profile and almost no activity has been reported, until late last week, when a bankruptcy lawsuit was filed against the companies and its owners.

The Directorate General of Taxation has just released their 2021 financial report. Although there are many plus points and achievements, there is one thing that still haunts this institution: the findings of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) regarding tax receivables that have not been optimally collected. This finding has been repeatedly conveyed, at least in the last few years. There have been improvements made, but not optimal yet. This year, BPK found non-performing tax receivables worth Rp20.84 trillion, the number of receivables that eventually expire is also very high. How will the Directorate General solve this problem?

The Ministry of Finance continues expanding the tax base by appointing new collectors of Value Added Tax (VAT/PPN) for digital products in trading through the electronic system (PMSE). The number of collectors continues to increase. When we report on the progress in February 2022, there are already 98 companies with the same set of responsibilities. By July 2022, the are 119 companies on the list. Two years after the policy was implemented, the Government has received more than Rp7 trillion tax value.

Satuan Tugas Penanganan Hak Tagih Negara Dana Bantuan Likuiditas Bank Indonesia (BLBI), a task force under Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s supervision to recover funds from some businessmen related to 1997-1998 financial crisis, faces a new obstacle. Earlier this week a lawsuit was registered to the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN Jakarta) by an unknown company, PT Mahkotaberlian Cemerlang. The company demanded the Satgas to pay Rp400 billion in compensation but without clear explanation. It took us some time to figure out the background to this lawsuit, but there are some interesting possibilities to consider.

Fahmi Idris, a 1966 exponent who later became a conglomerate as well as a politician from the Golkar Party, recently died. During his lifetime there was not much news about his family life, but recently, a lawsuit was filed to the South Jakarta District Court by his second daughter, businesswoman Fahrina Fahmi Idris. The lawsuit indirectly raised various issues in the family. In the lawsuit, Fahrina named her ex-husband, politician Peompida Hidayatulloh, as one of the defendant. Listed as one of the co-defendants is Fahrina’s sister, Senator Fahira Idris.

Problems related to PT Titan Infra Energy (PT TIE) and its group of companies began to appear two years ago, but not much has been highlighted so the problem has simply evaporated. It was only this year that the public learned that the problems the company was experiencing were too big. Recently, Bank Mandiri, which represents several banks, has publicly asked Titan Group to pay its loan obligations of US$450 million or equivalent to more than Rp6 trillion.

PT Waskita Beton Precast Tbk (WSBP) faced several different lawsuits of Suspension of Debt Payment (PKPU) at the Commercial Court at the Central Jakarta District Court within the past two years. The last lawsuit was granted and the company was ordered to restructure its debts. In the midst of the process, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced investigation into alleged corruption in the company. Towards the end of last week, the PKPU was resolved in peace, but the criminal investigation continues.