The case of alleged corruption in the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) enters a new chapter as the suspect will finally face court proceedings. The defendant is the former Head of DJBC Office in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Andhi Pramono, who has been a broker for business actors for over a decade, apparently without anyone realizing it.

The trial of the bribers in the case of corruption involving officials of the Directorate General of Railways at the Ministry of Transportation was over in September 2023. Far from media coverage, four bribers have been found guilty by three different corruption courts. However, one of them refuses to go down alone. During the latest hearing of the bribee, Dion Renato Sugiarto mentioned names of the project brokers who help the companies or associates find jobs at the Ministry, including a member of the House of Representatives and reportedly the President’s brother-in-law. They are usually called “langitan” or literally meaning celestial.

Not long ago a bankruptcy lawsuit was registered to the Commercial Court at the Central Jakarta District Court. The plaintiffs are two companies that operate Eka Hospital (Sinar Mas Group) while the defendant is the company that operates the Selat Panjang PSC. How can companies operating in vastly different business fields come into conflict?

In the midst of public attention regarding the case of alleged extortion which dragged the Chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Firli Bahuri, the KPK finally carried out another sting operation (OTT) against a number of State administrators, this time in Southwest Papua. The KPK investigative team arrested the Acting Regent of Sorong, Yan Piet Mosso, including an examiner from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) for the Southwest Papua region, along with Rp1.8 billion in cash. The operation is noteworthy in several aspects.

When the Satuan Tugas Penanganan Hak Tagih Negara Dana Bantuan Likuiditas Bank Indonesia (Satgas BLBI) was formed and the Government began to use other methods to force obligors to payoff their obligations, there were many names that were already familiar to the public. We thought it was them that would cause a stir, but we were wrong. Until now, there is one family that for some reason continues to fight, namely the Gondokusumo family. The Gondokusumo brothers took turns suing and being sued by the Satgas and other related parties even though the Satgas’ term of office will end in approximately the next two months.

Towards the end of its term of duty, the Satuan Tugas Penanganan Hak Tagih Negara Dana Bantuan Likuiditas Bank Indonesia (Satgas BLBI) accelerated the summons of obligors who still had to settle its outstanding responsibilities or to settle other issues. Starting this week, the Satgas publicly announced summons for new parties.

Back in March 2023, interesting news came from Indonesia Police Watch (IPW). The non-governmental organization submitted a report to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) regarding alleged grafts worth Rp7 billion from one Helmut Hermawan for a deputy minister through two of his personal assistants. The Deputy Minister in question is the Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights, Eddy Hiariej. We know that in recent years Helmut has had disputes with many parties regarding the ownership of PT Citra Lampia Mandiri (PT CLM) and in the beginning it is these other parties that have caught our attention. With so much going on in Indonesia lately, we almost forgot about this report, until this week. The KPK finally said that they had escalated the case to the stage of inquisition and named four suspects in the case, including Eddy, since two weeks ago.

The first batch of suspects in the BAKTI case, the case of alleged corruption related to a project at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, had faced trial since June 2023. A lot of interesting things emerged in the indictment when all eyes were on former Minister Johnny Plate, one of the witnesses even claimed that Johnny received Rp500 million every month from the BAKTI. The proceedings ran smoothly despite several surprises and after nearly four months of proceedings, the Panel of Judges had read their decision and declared the defendants guilty, including Johnny Plate.

Allegations of corruption related to PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTM) are still being investigated and at the same time the trial of several defendants has begun. In a recent hearing, one of the defendants revealed the involvement of a national celebrity, Celine Evangelista. Celine was accused of receiving funds amounting to Rp500 million and was accused of having a personal closeness to the Attorney General, ST Burhanuddin, because she often called him ‘Papa’ on several occasions. The accusation forced the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to provide official clarification.

This week, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced that they had begun a new investigation into the case of alleged graft acceptance related to catalyst procurement at PT Pertamina (Persero). There has been no official explanation from the KPK other than that four people have been banned from traveling. However, we have actually known about this case since the middle of this year, four people were reportedly named as suspects, including a Pertamina official and his son who acted as a broker.