Kaharudin Ongko v. BFI Finance: Updates
Last week, the representatives of PT Aryaputra Teguhartha, a company with links to PT Ongko Multicorpora (PT Mitra Investindo Multicorpora) and Kaharudin Ongko (Bank Umum Nasional and former defendant in the BLBI graft case) announced their plan to file a lawsuit against PT Bunas Finance Indonesia Tbk (now PT BFI Finance Tbk) (BFIN). The dispute between the parties is related to shares ownership which has been going on for almost two decades. On May 16, 2018, the Company kept its promise and filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Law and Human Rights to the Jakarta State Administrative Court, demanding the Minister to annul several decisions. Two days after that, the Company’s representatives filed a police report against BFIN’s current and formers directors.
Law Journal: Bank Mandiri’s Credit Facility Case, and Jaya Smart Technology’s PKPU
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) visited the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) on May 21, 2018 and brought with them the audit result on the allegation of corruption on the provision of credit facilities from PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk (BMRI) to PT Tirta Amarta Bottling (TAB). The amount of calculation of State losses in the case is a lot more than the calculation previously predicted by Bank Mandiri’s internal audit. With the audit result in hand, the AGO is set to expedite the docket of the first suspect in the case to the stage of prosecution this week. Separately the process of debts restructuring of PT Jaya Smart Technology of Royal Standard Group continues, but the process is getting complicated as the Company refused to acknowledge the bills submitted by Molucca Holdings S.à.r.l. This is the collateral damage caused by Molucca’s failure to force PT Pelita Cengkareng Paper to pay off its debts.
A Judicial Review on the Traffic and Road Transportation Law
Even though Gojek is Indonesia’s first unicorn, the fact to the matter is that motorcycle taxi or ojek is not one of the recognized public transportation means in Indonesia’s laws and regulations. This is why several parties have tried to challenged the Law No. 22/2009 on Road Traffic and Road Transportation. The most recent attempt to challenge the law at the Constitutional Court came from the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI).
Law Journal
Last month, various national media outlets reported that the Jakarta Metropolitan police was investigating allegations of fraud committed by two politicians of two different political parties. Last week, the North Sumatera police announced that they had named Bonaran Situmeang a suspect in a similar case. The victims are civil servant candidates of the Central Tapanuli regency. At the same time, the police also named Bonaran’s former vice regent one Syukran Tanjung a suspect of fraud on another issue. The Corruption Eradication Commission, meanwhile, announced that they had named a new suspect in the Kebumen regency graft case. The suspect is a company owned by the former Regent, who is also a suspect in the case. The company is the first corporate suspect of a money laundering.
Mining Problems in South Sumatera
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) have a team to conduct a coordination and supervision in South Sumatera related to the province’s problems in the mining field (minerals and coals) since 2014. The assignment ended last year and it resulted in the province’s decision to revoke operational licenses (IUP) of 34 companies. Among the companies, 8 companies refused to accept the decision and filed lawsuits against the Governor and several other officials. The Palembang State Administrative Court (PTUN Palembang), however, decided in favor of some of the companies. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, published a cassation verdict in response to the lawsuit filed by PT Andalas Bara Sejahtera. In this case, the PTUN Palembang and the Supreme Court sided with the government.
Corruption Journal: Tonny Budiono’s Verdict and Edward Soeryadjaya’s Trial
The former Director General of Sea Transportation Antonius Tonny Budiono, who was caught back in August 2017 after receiving a bribe from the Commissioner of PT Adhiguna Keruktama (AGK) Adiputra Kurniawan, was found guilty on May 17, 2018. A day before Tonny’s hearing, the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court continued the trial of Edward Soeryadjaya, who was named a suspect in the case of alleged corruption related to misplaced investments made by Dana Pensiun Pertamina. The proceedings continued even though the South Jakarta District Court had previously granted Edward’s pre-trial petition and annulled his status as a suspect.
SinemArt’s Shareholding Dispute: A New Chapter?
The dispute between two of the biggest television companies, PT Media Nusantara Citra Tbk (MNCN belonging to Hary Tanoesoedibjo) and PT Surya Citra Media Tbk (SCMA controlled by the Sariaatmadja family), over the shareholding of PT Sinemart Indonesia continues. The owner of Sinemart Leo Sutanto first challenged the decision of the West Jakarta District Court and failed. They then took the dispute to the appeal stage, and they won after the Jakarta High Court ruled in favor of their petition. The Panel of Appeals had actually decided on the matter in the second week of April 2018, but the verdict was only published earlier this month.
The Sting Operation in Bengkulu
It has been a while since the last time we heard of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)’s move in Bengkulu. On May 16, 2018, the KPK announced they had named several suspects as a result of a Sting Operation conducted a day before. Among the suspects are the Regent of South Bengkulu Dirwan Mahmud and his wife one Hendrati. This is the fifth Sting Operation in Bengkulu within the last two years, Dirwan and Hendrati also made it to the list of spouses caught in corruption.
Corruption Journal
The Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court recently listened to the indictment for the Regent of Central Lampung one Mustafa, who was arrested for bribing members of the region’s DPRD earlier this year. At the same day, the court listened to the prosecutors’ demands for one Sigit Yugoharto, an auditor of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) who received bribes from one Setia Budi, a General Manager of PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk (Purbaleunyi). The punishment demanded for Sigit is four times heavier than the punishment demanded for Setia Budi.
Corruption Journal: Martin Tome’s Case and Hulu Sungai Tengah Graft Case
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named the former Regent of Sabu Raijua in East Nusa Tenggara Marthen Dira Tome a suspect in the corruption of education funds, a crime that allegedly happened in November 2016. He was found guilty last year but the verdict given by the corruption court at the Surabaya District Court were too light if compared to the punishment demanded by the rposecutors. The KPK decided to keep fighting and in the stage of Cassation the Supreme Court decided to aggravate Marthen’s sentences. Meanwhile, the trial of the President Director of PT Menara Agung Pustaka one Donny Witono, who was arrested after giving bribes to the former Regent of Hulu Sungai Tengah (HST) Abdul Latif, will end soon as the prosecutors have read their demands.