The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) distributed archives dubbed as the Pandora Papers to various parties around the world. The archives contain correspondence and client lists of Trident Trust, a financial company operating in several tax haven countries. Indonesian public figures are among the names contained in the archives. Several national media outlets focused on just a few names, which raised suspicions that the files would be used in the ongoing political battle, especially since the disclosure of the Pandora Papers coincided with the planned implementation of the second volume of Tax Amnesty in Indonesia.

The trial of the tax officials suspected of receiving and soliciting bribes from corporate taxpayers continues. In this week’s hearing, one of the witnesses presented was one of the tax officials who participated in the corruption scheme. Said tax official spoke on the allegations that we have mentioned before. 

Three years ago, the dispute between Luxembourg’s Molucca Holdings S.à.r.l and PT Pelita Cengkareng Paper emerged. Since then the parties continued to exchange lawsuits. The dispute ended in Pelita Cengkareng’s victory. Earlier this week, we learned that another lawsuit was registered at the Commercial Court at the Central Jakarta District Court with the aim of having Pelita Cengkareng restructure its debts. 

The last time we posted about PT Pelita Cengkareng Paper (PCP) was over two years ago related to the lawsuit filed by Molucca Holdings Sarl. On Monday, Indonesian company PT Citra Mega Nusantara filed a debt payment suspension (PKPU) lawsuit against PCP to the Central Jakarta Commercial Court. 

The past couple of weeks was rough for the former Governor of South Sumatera Alex Noerdin. He was named a suspect of corruption after years of speculation. The day after the news went viral, Alex was again named a suspect in a different case. Towards the end of last week, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) named new suspects in the second case.

The former Managing Director of PT Indosat Mega Media (IM2) Indar Atmanto was convicted of graft for causing the State Rp1.3 trillion in financial loss in a 3G frequency deal. His Reconsideration plea was rejected in October 2015. Several pre-trial lawsuits were filed, but to no avail. Recently, a new pre-trial lawsuit was filed related to the same case, six years after the Supreme Court rejected Indar’s reconsideration plea.

Two years ago the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) uncovered corruption in Muara Enim. It brought down the Regent of Muara Enim one Ahmad Yani (Demokrat) and several other people, including the Chairman of DPRD one Aries HB (PDIP). Ahmad Yani was convicted in May 2020. The other suspects were also found guilty. The KPK did not stop developing the case. On the last day of September 2021, the KPK announced ten new suspects, all of whom are active members of the DPRD. 

The devastating 2015 forest fires started a new journey in the Government’s battle against the perpetrators of forest fires. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry imposed various sanctions on over 20 companies. By the end of said year, the Government began filing lawsuits at dozens of district courts. In 2019, a new battle began after forest fires spread in parts of Sumatera and Kalimantan. The police announced hundreds of individual suspects and many corporate suspects, while the Ministry also investigated independently. The Ministry imposed sanctions on the responsible companies, and the battle continues to this day. Recently, the Ministry gained one more victory after the Supreme Court overturned a decision made by the Pangkalan Bun District Court.