Karen Agustiawan, who was accused of corruption related to the purchase of shares of Australia-based ROC Oil Company Limited while serving as president director of PT Pertamina (Persero), is banned from overseas travel from the period of June-December 2022 upon the request from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). 

Furniture company PT Cahaya Bintang Medan Tbk (CBMF) recently filed a lawsuit against PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BBCA), the largest company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) by market capitalization, and the Medan City State Property and Auction Service Office (KPKNL) regarding the auction of the company’s guarantee. The root of the problem is a loan facility provided by BBCA worth more than Rp70 billion.

Anies Baswedan, who could become governor of Jakarta after leading a campaign period that was full of identity politics, created yet another problem. Since his inauguration, his policies have often been made in favor of the beneficiary party. Towards the end of last year, for example, Anies tried to please the labor group and increase the Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) as they demanded. We understand the good intention, but we’re not surprised to see that this decision backfired. Because it was made in an obvious violation of a number of regulations and without permission from the Ministry of Manpower, Anies’ decision was challenged in the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN Jakarta) a month later. On July 12, 2022, as expected, the decision was overturned. However, the cancellation leaves problems for companies that have already followed the wrong decision.

Switzerland-based Delfi Chocolate Manufacturing SA sued the Trademark Appeals Commission of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights last week. The lawsuit was registered after the Delfi Chacha trademark registration was rejected. This news is certainly surprising because anyone in Indonesia has grown up with Chacha’s chocolate treats, so how can Delfi’s registration be rejected?

The financial report of the Directorate General of Taxation for the 2021 fiscal year noted a decrease in law enforcement actions in the form of hostage-taking or better known as Gijzeling. In 2021, the Directorate General only carry out one Gijzeling with a tax liability value of only Rp1.5 billion. This action reminds us of the case involving Roni Wijaya, the operational director of PT Dutasari Citralaras. But apart from the law enforcement realization, what exactly is a Gijzeling and how is it implemented?

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?