The trial of Imam Nahrawi, the former Minister of Youth and Sports, continues. Imam who is now a defendant in the case of bribery involving his subordinates and officials of the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) confronted the witness who attended the latest hearing. But their confrontation looks a lot more like a personal dispute.

In the second week of January 2020, Mizuho Asean Investment LP filed a tort lawsuit against several parties including PT Asia Kuliner Sejahtera and PT Jaya Bersama Indo Tbk (DUCK). The dispute is related to the parties’ attempt to issue bonds in the name of DUCK. Mizuho accused Asia Culinary Prosperous neglected to perform obligations and demand trillions of rupiah compensation. Four days after the lawsuit was filed, Mizuho was sued by dozens of other related parties but the counter-lawsuit was registered in different district courts. However, in the new lawsuit DUCK is also listed as defendant. What a headache. Not long ago DUCK’s legal counsel gave a statement and stated that the company did not have any legal relationship with Mizuho. What is really happening?

The case of corruption involving State-owned insurance company PT Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero) had taken a toll on a lot of parties. The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has seized many assets, including two mining companies. The AGO recently handed over the management of the companies to the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises. Separately, the House of Representatives is competing in running committees to investigate the case. Meanwhile, the State is still trying to find a quick solution to fulfill the Company’s obligation to its customers.

The case of corruption involving State-owned insurance company PT Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero) has taken a toll on many. The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) investigated the case, so many assets had been seized, including two mining companies. The AGO recently handed over the management of the companies to the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises. Separately, the House of Representatives is competing in running committees to investigate the case. Meanwhile, the State is still trying to find a quick solution to fulfill the Company’s obligation to its customers.

Last year we reported on the legal issues faced by several subsidiaries of PT Bayan Resources Tbk (BYAN) which caused problems on the companies operation. Earlier this week, BYAN announced that they had received the official copy of court verdicts related to the said legal issues.

Indonesia faced another forest fire last year. Although the consequences are not as bad as in 2015, the Government handled the situation aggressively. The latest updates given was when they announced the investigation on over 500 suspects, including dozens of corporate suspects. The West Kalimantan province stands out for actively warning corporations. Recently, we learned that the chief of the West Kalimantan regional police personally led case constructions. To date, there are seven corporate suspects in West Kalimantan.

Apart from sting operations, we know that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is still conducting investigations based on reports submitted by the public, one of such kind is the investigation into the allegations of corruption in PT Waskita Karya (Persero) Tbk (WSKT). The KPK officially announced the investigation back in December 2018, and the investigation continues. 

The United States conducted its investigation on the Tarahan graft case. As a result, Marubeni Corp agreed to pay US$88 million and pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, consisting of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Two Alstom executives of the US arm of Alstom in Connecticut, Frederic Pierucci and David Rothschild, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate bribery laws in connection with the project. Reuters recently reported that a federal judge had tossed all bribery charges on which a former executive at French industrial company Alstom SA was found guilty back in November 2019.

The Office of Public Affairs of the Department of Justice of the United States recently announced that two former executives of the Indonesian subsidiary of the French power and transportation company Alstom SA, and a former executive of the Japanese trading company Marubeni Corporation have been charged in a superseding indictment for their alleged participation in a scheme to bribe government officials in Indonesia. We’re reminded of the case of corruption related to the Tarahan Steam Power Plant project in Lampung that brought down senior politician Emir Moeis (PDIP). Emir was found guilty back in 2014.

The Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court finally read the decision for two defendants in the case of corruption involving the Governor of Riau Islands Nurdin Basirun. Separately, the Corruption Court of the Medan District Court read their decision for the defendant in the case of bribery involving the Mayor of Medan Tengku Dzulmi Eldin.