Last month Freddy Widjaja—son of the late tsar of Sinar Mas Group Eka Tjipta Widjaja—filed a civil lawsuit at the Central Jakarta District Court, demanding his share of inheritance. The news was widely reported because Freddy mentioned names of several subsidiaries of the group in his lawsuit. Soon after the lawsuit was made public the mentioned companies’ stock prices weakened, with some having to provide information to the IDX. The next hearing to examine the lawsuit is scheduled to be held on July 20, 2020. 

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) took a very long time to complete the indictment of Tubagus Chaeri Wardana (Wawan), the brother of former Banten governor Ratu Atut who is accused of money laundering. The trial began with the hope that it would force Wawan to take responsibility for his crime, but yesterday, that hope vanished. After several months of proceedings, the Panel of Judges concluded that the prosecutors could not prove their allegation of money laundering. That said, the Court was convinced that Wawan was guilty of two other accounts of crime. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

The House of Representatives and the Government is continuing with the deliberation of the Omnibus Bill on Job Creation despite the civil society’s plea for suspension. On April 14, 2020, a Working Committee (Panja) responsible for the deliberation was formed. Each faction of the political parties in the DPR asked for time to compile its Problem Inventory List (DIM). The Ministry of Manpower formed a technical team to unite all stakeholders in one discussion forum. Its members are Government stakeholders, representatives of workers union/labor union (SP/SB), and employers’ representatives. The technical team began meeting on July 8, 2020, but by July 12, 2020, the KSPI led by Said Iqbal decided to exit the team. The KSPSI led by Andi Gani Nena Wea followed. 

In June 2020, Freddy Widjaja—son of the late Eka Tjipta Widjaja, the tsar of Sinar Mas Group—filed a civil lawsuit at the Central Jakarta District Court, demanding his share of inheritance. The news was widely reported this week as the group through Gandi Sulistiyanto Soeherman (a managing director) provided their side of the story. Until the end of his life, Eka Tjipta Widjaja only recognized two legitimate wives. Freddy’s mother is not one of them. This is not the first time Freddy has filed a lawsuit related to his position in the family. Freddy had been trying to be considered a legitimate child since the end of 2019.

After 10 long months and very turbulent proceedings, the former President Director of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) (PLN) Nur Pamudji was found guilty of corruption. Nur Pamudji, who was once declared as the icon of anti-corruption, was declared responsible for causing State losses as a result of irregular procurement of High-Speed ​​Diesel (HSD) fuel supplied by PT Trans-Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI).

In mid-May 2020, the House of Representatives passed the revised Law on Mineral and Coal Mining (Minerba). The revision was enacted as Law No. 3/2020. Last week, the Constitutional Court received three applications for Judicial Review challenging the said Law. One of the applications was submitted by several politicians, including the Governor of Bangka Belitung Islands, one Erzaldi Rosman Djohan (Golkar).

Koperasi Simpan Pinjam (Kospin) Indosurya Cipta was able to convince its creditors to resolve the dispute after submitting its latest peace proposal on July 8, 2020. So Kospin can avoid bankruptcy. That said, doubts remain. 

Joko Tjandra, whose family controls the Mulia Group, left Indonesia a day before the court officially sentenced him guilty. Joko supposedly made his escape after insiders of the judiciary institution tipped him. It’s a suspicion that has not been proven. Two years after Joko’s escape, the Mulia Group caused a stir for its luxury hotel construction in Bali. Joko Tjandra was supposedly involved in the process. That said, the Mulia Hotels and Resorts was built despite the controversy. Eight years later, businessman one Frans Bambang Siswanto filed a police report claiming that the said Hotel was built on his property. The land was allegedly sold by I Made Sumantra using fake deeds and certificates. The Hotel denied the accusation and insisted that it had obtained the parcel of land through legal means. Sumantra was found guilty and convicted by the court. The same decision is upheld at the stage of cassation in the Supreme Court in 2019.

Corruption in the provision of loan facilities from PT Bank Negara Indonesia Tbk (BBNI) was revealed in 2003. Unfortunately, not much is known about the case other than its suspects Arnold Waworuntu was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, and that another suspect Maria Pauline Lumowa had fled the country. This week, the public was shocked by the news of Maria’s extradition.