Last year was difficult for PT Garuda Indonesia (GIAA). The Company had to face several lawsuits in the middle of a financial crisis due to the COVID-19 outbreak. By the end of Jan. 2021, a UK High Court decided to grant GIAA's application for a stay of proceedings...

In 2017, J&F Investimentos SA, a holding company owned by brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista, agreed to sell its flagship asset Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA to Netherland-based Paper Excellence, managed by Jackson Widjaja, grandson of the late Eka Tjipta Widjaja. But the deal quickly turned sour. J&F canceled the deal. It argued that Paper Excellence did not comply with the conditions to close the deal. Paper Excellence went to court, and the court sent the decision to arbitration. Recently, the arbitrators reportedly ruled in favor of Paper Excellence.

In the past two months, PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk (Persero) (PGAS) has announced several information disclosures to the IDX. They are all related to the Company’s tax problems. In its latest announcement, PGAS stated that it had lost in a dispute against the Directorate General of Taxation and must pay more than Rp3 trillion. It’s terrible news, for the Company is not in a good situation.

In 2016, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo officially recognized the customary forests of several indigenous people and customary communities. The recognition was given in the form of a Decree on the Inclusion of Customary Forest and Customary Forest Determination Letter to nine customary communities in the State Palace. Four years later, however, the Pandumaan Sipituhuta learned that their land was included in the Food Estate project. 

In August 2018, we reported on an investigation conducted by the Attorney General Office (AGO) related to allegations of corruption involving State-owned Enterprise PT Danareksa (Persero). At the beginning of 2020, the investigation escalated to the stage of inquisition. The AGO has named six suspects in two different cases. Far from media coverage, by the end of 2020 the trials started. 

The former Registrar of North Jakarta District Court Rohadi, who was caught receiving bribes related to the case of sexual abuse involving a celebrity named Saipul Jamil, was found guilty in 2016. This seemingly trivial case became the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) ‘s entry point to discovering many more crimes that Rohadi allegedly committed since 2005. Rohadi was named a suspect of money laundering, but it took the KPK a long time to investigate the case. Rohadi’s trial began earlier this week.

The indictment against the former Registrar at the North Jakarta District Court one Rohadi mentions a case of corruption in West Papua. It’s a reminder that two decades of special autonomy and the Rp138 trillion in regional transfer funds have not transformed the Papua and West Papua for the better. The House of Representatives is now expected to double the special autonomy funds for Papua and West Papua.

Towards midnight of Dec. 4, 2020, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) conducted a Sting Operation in Jakarta. It uncovered a case of corruption in the Ministry of Social Affairs. The KPK named several people as suspects, including then Minister of Social Affairs Juliari Batubara (PDIP). On Feb. 1, 2021, the KPK conducted a case reconstruction. More details were revealed. 

We first reported on a legal issue related to PT Asuransi Sosial Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (familiarly known as PT ASABRI) in 2011. The case had been under investigation since 2008. It mentioned the involvement of several important figures. A decade later, one of the names mentioned appeared in connection with the allegation of corruption in PT Asuransi Jiwasraya. By the end of 2020, the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir visited the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) with a number of documents related to the allegations of corruption in ASABRI. On Feb. 1, 2021, the AGO announced progress and named the suspects, including Benny Tjokrosaputro and Heru Hidayat—both had been convicted as the key perpetrators in the Jiwasraya case—and two retired military generals.

The Supreme Court issued the game-changer Circular (SEMA) No. 10/2020 in Dec. 2020. Among the important issues noted in the SEMA, the Supreme Court referred to the precedent laid out in the cassation decisions given to Ferederick Siahaan and Karen Agustiawan. The decisions also rely on the Constitutional Court decision No. 01/PHPUPres/XVII/2019, which is related to Vice President  Ma’ruf Amin.