More than a year has passed since the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) began investigating the graft cases involving the disgraced Governor of North Sumatera Gatot Pujo Nugroho. Gatot is allegedly involved in four different cases, and he’s been facing trial for two of said cases. On October 20, 2016 the Corruption Court of the Medan District Court was supposed to hear the prosecutors’ demands for Gatot’s abuse of the social assistance funds of North Sumatera, but the hearing was postponed to November 10, 2016.

The former chairman of the Constitutional Court (MK) Akil Mochtar was arrested on October 2, 2013 for his involvement in bribery. Since then, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named thirteen suspects connected to Akil Mochtar’s corrupt tenure. But just as we thought that that Akil’s case had faded into history. On October 19, 2016 the KPK issued a warrant of inquisition (Sprindik) for the Regent of Buton Samsu Umar Abdul Samiun. Samsu is the fourteenth suspect connected to Akil Mochtar.

The Government and the Budget Committee (Banggar) of the House of Representatives (DPR) reached an agreement on the posture of the 2017 State Budget (APBN) for each of the ministries and state institutions. The total amount of the approved budget is Rp763.57 trillion. It’s an increase from the original proposal in the financial note, which was Rp758.37 trillion. In addition to approving the budget for the ministries and state institutions, the DPR also approved the proposed Capital Injection (PMN) for State-Owned Enterprises and the Public Service Agency under the Ministry of Finance.

In the past two weeks, the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court held two separate hearings on the two suspects in the bribery case involving the registrar of the Central Jakarta District Court Muhammad Santoso. The suspects tried are the Partner of Wiranatakusumah Legal & Consultant Office Raoul Adhitya Wiranatakusumah and his associate Ahmad Yani. In both hearings, the public prosecutor of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) read the defendants’ indictment.

Following the raid conducted on the afternoon of October 11, 2016 at the Ministry of Transportation on reports of “pungli” (the illegal levies that corrupt public officials charge for, among others, the processing of licenses), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ordered the establishment of a special task force to focus on pungli eradication. On October 13, 2016, the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security Wiranto formed said task force and named it the Saber Pungli (Pungli Eradication) Task Force. But questions followed. What legal basis is there for such a task force? How long will the team work on this issue? How will they work and will it not create conflicts given the already existing structure of law enforcement?

The Government, by way of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, are still battling the perpetrators of 2015 forest fires. After winning the trial against PT National Sago Prima (NSP), a subsidiary of PT Sampoerna Agro Tbk on August 11, 2016, the Ministry is attending trials of other companies such as, PT Waringin Agro Jaya (WAJ), a Company that operates in Palembang, South Sumatera.

Indonesia’s taxation authority has been working towards improving their service, but as it is, the corruption remains rampant. Many tax officials have been caught extorting taxpayers. One of the most recent cases is the three officials of the Kebayoran Baru III Tax Office in South Jakarta who were caught extorting PT Electronic Design and Manufacturing International (EDMI) Indonesia. The trial of the three men have been held since July 2016. On October 17, 2016, the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court announced the verdict.

After previously managing to escape the PKPU lawsuit filed by two of their creditors in September 2016, PT Sumatera Persada Energi (SPE), the subsidiary of PT Asiabumi Petroleo, once again entered a period of PKPU. The Panel of Judges of the Commercial Court at the Central Jakarta District Court agreed to accept the PKPU petition that the Company themselves filed voluntarily. The Company stated that this period of PKPU would be for altering the peace agreement that had been ratified on the previous period of PKPU in 2014.

The family feud within Shinta Group was made public thanks to the subpoena published on October 11, 2016 by Rudhy Lontoh & Partners Law Office, the representative of Indra Hermijanto. Two days later the representative of Mrs Lek Chui Eng Juniver Girsang & Partners Law Office published their side of the story, but nothing about what the two bickering sides are on about was made clear.

Toto Hermijanto (The Tjin Kim), the founder of Shinta Group, one of the largest garment and textile players in Indonesia, passed away on July 30, 2016 in Singapore. On Tuesday, October 11, 2016, Lontoh & Partners Law Office representing Indra Hermijanto published a warning regarding Toto’s inheritance in two national newspapers. Two days later, Juniver Girsang and Partners representing Mrs. Lek Chui Eng, Lynn Hermijanto, and Stacey Hermijanto issued a half-page announcement to rebuff the claims published by Lontoh & Partners. The two subpoenas mentioned Toto’s inheritance and the civil case No. 425/Pdt.G/2015/PN Tng that is currently at the stage of appeals, but did not clearly explain the situation. What’s actually going on?