La Nyalla is Free
The High Prosecutor of East Java has been trying to ensnare the former Chairman of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) La Nyalla Mattalitti for the graft that he allegedly committed during his tenure as chairman of the East Java Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin). La Nyalla was named a suspect but he filed a pre-trial lawsuit against the decision and won. The High Prosecutor, with the help of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), however, insisted that La Nyalla must be held accountable. And so La Nyalla was once again named as a suspect. History repeats itself, until La Nyalla won all three pre-trial lawsuits he filed against the High Prosecutor. Unfazed, the prosecutors are determined to bring prosecute La Nyalla and so they named him a suspect for the fourth time. La Nyalla had faced his trial since September 2016, and on December 27, 2016, the Panel of Judges of the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court decided in favor of La Nyalla and acquitted him from all charges.
Bumi Serpong Damai v. Swiss German Uni (Part III)
The Swiss German University Asia Foundation (YSGUA) and PT Swiss German Uni (SGU) have been in dispute with PT Bumi Serpong Damai Tbk (BSDE) for more than three years. This dispute is unlikely to be resolved through negotiations, which explains why BSDE filed a civil lawsuit against SGU (and the institution’s representative Prikanti Kanter) at the Tangerang District Court in May 2016.
Lippo Group Bribery: Chasing Eddy Sindoro and Nurhadi
Back in November, the trial of Edy Nasution—a former Registrar of the Central Jakarta District Court who was caught receiving bribes from an employee of PT Artha Pratama Anugerah (APP, a subsidiary of Lippo Group) by the name of Doddy Arianto Supeno—the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Prosecutor asked the court to keep a certain evidence previously confiscated for the case against Eddy Sindoro. This move made everyone wonder, had the KPK already named Eddy Sindoro as a suspect? The KPK kept quiet for more than a month. until they finally officially revealed that Eddy Sindoro is the new suspect of the case on December 23, 2016.
Bumi Serpong Damai v. Swiss German Uni (Part II)
The dispute between PT Swiss German Uni (SGU) and PT Bumi Serpong Damai Tbk (BSDE) came to public attention because several students of the University began noticing what they believed to be unusual changes of lecturers and rector. The dispute then went public as of the end of 2015 and both parties finally published their own version of clarification. There are several crucial points at the heart of the dispute.
Bumi Serpong Damai v. Swiss German Uni (Part I)
The Swiss German University, an entity managed by PT Swiss German Union (SGU), has been facing a tort lawsuit filed by its partner PT Bumi Serpong Damai Tbk (BSDE) since May 2016. BSDE filed the lawsuit because, SGU allegedly never paid their lease. On December 17, 2016, BSDE sealed SGU’s building. SGU’s attorney asked the Court to order BSDE to unseal their building, but at the trial held on December 21, 2016, the judges of the Tangerang District Court rejected SGU’s request. Teaching activity at the Swiss German University has been halted. Before we discuss the subject of dispute, the following is a brief profile of the parties involved.
Grahalintas Escaped Bankruptcy
As we all know, PT Grahalintas Properti is in a period of Suspension of Debts Payment (PKPU). The Company, however, was able to reach an agreement with its separatist creditor, i.e., PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk after using all the time limit provided for negotiations. The agreement is the most crucial achievement in this PKPU process because the Company owes the most debts to BNGA. In addition to that, in the last meeting of creditors, the majority of creditors reportedly accepted the peace proposal. With this agreement, the Company will escape bankruptcy, pending the promulgation of the peace agreement by the Panel of Judges of the Commercial Court of the Central Jakarta District Court.
Bumigas Energi v. Geo Dipa Energi: The Battle Expanded
The dispute between a private energy company PT Bumigas Energi and the state-owned energy company PT Geo Dipa Energi (Persero) has been on-going for more than a decade. What began as a dispute in civil law has evolved into a criminal case after the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit (Bareskrim Polri) named Geo Dipa’s former Managing Director Samsudin Warsa as a fraud suspect in late 2014. Almost two years later, the docket of the criminal case has been escalated to the stage of prosecution and registered at the South Jakarta District Court. And now, the battle has expanded after Geo Dipa brought the case to attention of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Food Cartel Case: Objections from Poultry Players
On October 13, 2016 the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) finished their investigation into to allegations of cartel practices conducted by 12 major companies engaged in chicken breeding. The Commission Assembly stated that the 12 companies were guilty. The companies are obliged to compensate the State (in varying amounts), but three of the biggest companies decided to file an objection lawsuit to the district court.
Google Indonesia Failed to Resolve Tax Issue
The negotiation between the Government of Indonesia and Google Asia-Pacific (an entity based in Singapore) regarding the latter’s back taxes was supposed to be settled in mid-December 2016. Google, however, reportedly offered a too small amount of payment for the settlement and the Indonesian Government is not amused. The Government is now trying to process the issue as a criminal issue based on the applicable taxation law. Will this threat work?
A Look Back on the Attorney General’s Office’s Performance (Part II)
We talked about the AGO’s performance in 2016 based on their achievement in the examination process and in the stage of prosecution. The data show that the AGO’s performance is anything but satisfactory. What may have caused this?