Shares of Bukaka Teknik Utama (BUKK), a company controlled by the family of Jusuf Kalla (former vice president, main supporter of Anies Baswedan—president candidate from Nasdem, PKS, and PKB), ended slightly lower by 0.8% to Rp1,275 on Tuesday (Sep 20). Hours after market closing, BUKK director Sofiah Balfas, was named suspect in a corruption case.

Karen Agustiawan was once again named suspect in a case of alleged corruption related to decisions she made while serving as president director of PT Pertamina (Persero). The case supposedly caused State losses amounted to over Rp2 trillion. This is the second time that Karen had to face the law. Previously she was convicted in a similar case of alleged corruption only to be released by the Supreme Court, after serving one year and six months in prison, in a decision that sparked debate regarding the definition of corruption.

Satuan Tugas Penanganan Hak Tagih Negara Dana Bantuan Likuiditas Bank Indonesia (Satgas BLBI), a task force under Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s supervision to recover funds from some businessmen related to 1997-1998 financial crisis, faces a new obstacle. Towards the end of last week, a lawsuit was registered to the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN Jakarta) by PT Cowell Development Tbk (COWL). There is no information published by the court but there is a strong suspicion that this lawsuit is related to two other lawsuits previously filed by two different companies.

The prolonged process of demanding accountability for the use of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI) funds is one of the factors that complicates the Government’s efforts to force obligors/debtors to repay their obligations. Among the many difficulties, the most obvious is the change in ownership of assets purchased or built with BLBI funds. Along with these changes, there are also assets that have changed in function, one of which is now known as the Billy & Moon housing complex located in East Jakarta. Not long ago, the developer who manages the housing complex filed a lawsuit against the Satgas BLBI. However, within the company itself there is a long-standing dispute.

The problematic PT Asuransi Jiwa Kresna (known as Kresna Life linked to PT Kresna Graha Investama Tbk – KREN) managed to avoid bankruptcy in February 2021 only to have the decision annulled by the Supreme Court. The firm is declared bankrupt. Two years after the chaotic dispute was made known to the public, the police announced that they had named the President Director of Kresna Life as suspect in an ongoing investigation into a criminal case. A year later, recently, the investigation developed into another case of alleged money laundering involving affiliated companies. What a mess.

On Sept. 11, 2023, a lawsuit on breach of contract was filed to the Central Jakarta Court. One of the plaintiffs is PT Lamicitra Nusantara while one of the defendants is PT Dana Tabungan dan Asuransi Pegawai Negeri (Persero) or better known as PT Taspen (Persero). The court did not reveal the information on the cause of dispute between the parties, but the names of the parties reminded us of the Taspen scandal that occurred three decades ago.

Back in 2019, Karen Agustiawan was accused of corruption related to the purchase of shares of Australia-based ROC Oil Company Limited, decisions she made while serving as president director of PT Pertamina (Persero). She was later released by the Supreme Court in a decision that sparked debate regarding the definition of corruption. This debate is not without reason because in the same case another party was convicted. Even so, the public quickly forgot about this issue until 2022. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) then announced that they were conducting a new investigation on Pertamina’s business and had imposed travel bans against several individuals, including Karen. The announcement didn’t get much attention so we almost forgot about it. This year, the KPK finally conducted several witness examinations, the most recent being the examination of Dahlan Iskan, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) for the 2011-2014 period. We later learned that the KPK has escalated the investigation to the inquisition stage, meaning that there is already a suspect.

Trial of Lukas Enembe, the disgraced governor of Papua, who is standing trial as a defendant in a case of alleged bribery and graft, will end soon. The prosecutors of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) read their demands during the latest hearing. This is the first set of demands because Lukas is also a suspect in a case of alleged money laundering, which means he will have to go through a second trial after this trial ends.