Towards the end of last week, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced that it had uncovered a case of corruption involving officials of the National Land Agency (BPN) in connection with the issuance of Land Utilization (HGU) licenses for several palm plantations in West Kalimantan. The KPK immediately escalated the investigation to the stage of inquisition. Two officials were named suspects. The bribes reached more than Rp20 billion.

Two weeks ago, the new Deputy Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Kartika Wirjoatmodjo told the press that he would inform the Attorney General’s Office should fraud in the management of PT Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero) be found. That said, we later learned that the Jakarta High Prosecutors’ Office (Kejati Jakarta) had worked on a case for over a year. Recently, the Kejati announced that they had escalated the status of their investigation to an inquisition. Will there be a suspect soon?

On November 28, 2019, the Constitutional Court read their decision on the first Judicial Review petition filed to challenge the amended KPK Law. The petition was not accepted. The legal counsel of the applicants reacted strongly against the decision because they had withdrawn the petition over a week before the decision was read. What is happening?

Since the President appointed ST Burhanudin as the new Attorney General, he has made several statements on the possibilities of changes in the institution. Many parties welcomed some of the ideas put forward, but the most important thing for us is whether the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) can improve its performance under the leadership of ST Burhanudin. Many investigations into important cases of corruption do not yet have clear progress. One such case is the case of corruption related to the procurement of the Marine Vessels Power Plant (MVPP). The AGO has been examining and investigating the case for over a year, and yet no suspect has been named. 

It has been a while since we reported on the dispute between PT Kawasan Berikat Nusantara (Persero) (KBN) and PT Karya Citra Nusantara (KCN). The district court had ruled in favor of KBN only to have their decision overturned by the Supreme Court two months ago. The Supreme Court concluded that the district court had no authority to examine the dispute. We are still waiting for the official statement of KCN. That being said, the dispute also has another side: corruption. The allegation of corruption involving KBN was reported both to the police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), but we have not heard of any progress. Recently, the representatives of Keluarga Besar Nahdlatul Ulama (KBNU) in North Jakarta visited the KPK. They demanded an explanation of the report they had filed a while ago. 

In March 2018, the construction of a floating dock (jetty) began in Tegal Mas island of the regency of Pesawaran, Lampung. The construction marked the beginning of the development of the Tegal Mas tourism area. The province was proud of the development, but it was later revealed that the construction had commenced even though the developer had not secured the licenses required by the law. Several months ago, three ministries witnessed by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) sealed the island. The KPK recently said they were still overseeing the case. The developer of the island was mentioned in a case of corruption that ensnared the disgraced Regent of South Lampung one Zainudin Hasan. 

In July 2019, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) conducted a sting operation and uncovered corruption in PT Angkasa Pura II. The KPK named several people, including the Company’s Director of Finance suspects. At a later stage, we learned that other state-owned companies were involved. In the process of investigation and inquisition, the KPK also had summoned officials from several other state-owned companies. Trial of the intermediary in the case started not long ago, and the latest hearing was held on November 25, 2019. 

The dispute over the loan agreement provided by a syndicate of banks led by PT Bank PDFCI to PT Geria Wijaya Prestige (GWP) (controlled by the Karjadi family) started over a decade ago. Today the agreement has turned into a complicated maze of legal battle, which has produced several conflicting court verdicts. Two of the Karjadi brothers are now standing trial for fraud.  

Over two months ago, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was able to uncover a case of corruption after they conducted a sting operation in Jakarta. The KPK arrested several people and soon after named three suspects, including the Managing Director of PT Perkebunan Nusantara III (Persero) (PTPN III). On November 25, 2019, the trial of the briber in the case started, and the indictment revealed more details.

At the end of September 2017, PT Asuransi Allianz Life Indonesia made headlines after two of its former officials were named suspects of fraud and insurance crime. The case then ended after police reports filed against the two suspects were withdrawn by the complainants. A few days later, Allianz filed a counter police report against four policyholders. In the third week of March 2018, it was made known that the police had named five suspects in the case, including the legal counsel who assisted the first two complainants. The last information we got was that the suspects had been detained, including the legal counsel one Alvin Lim, but we’re surprised to learn that recently the South Jakarta District Court decided to stop the trial of Alvin on the grounds that Alvin have never attended the trial in person for health reasons. What surprising is that the other suspects in the case had been declared guilty. What is going on?