The prosecution stage in the case of alleged corruption in the Pemalang regency has come to an end. After over four months of proceedings, the disgraced Regent, Mukti Agung Wibowo, has been found guilty. It is interesting to know how the court stated that parts of the grafts were used to contribute to the United Development Party (PPP).

The case of abuse committed by Mario Dandy Satrio (20), son of Rafael Alun Trisambodo, a former official at the Ministry of Finance, has not yet been brought to justice, but now, a similar case has been uncovered. The son of a North Sumatera regional police officer, Aditya Hasibuan (19), abused his friend in the presence of his father, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Achiruddin Hasibuan. These two cases have another thing in common, the uncovering of alleged crimes committed by the fathers. The alleged crime has prompted the Government and authorities to speed up the completion of the drafting of the Bill on Forfeiture of Criminal Assets. Towards the end of last week, the Government announced motivating progress. 

Lukas Enembe, the disgraced governor of Papua, who was ensnared in a bribery case investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), was also named a suspect in a case of alleged money laundering. This announcement was made at the same time as the trial of the suspected bribe giver, Rijatono Lakka, owner of PT Tabi Bangun Papua (PT TBP) started. Not long after that, the KPK named two new suspects in the predicate crime. Recently, the KPK announced two more suspects, this means there are four new suspects within the past month, including the province’s Head of Public Works Department. Meanwhile, Lukas’ attempt to challenge the KPK in a pre-trial case failed.

Satuan Tugas Penanganan Hak Tagih Negara Dana Bantuan Likuiditas Bank Indonesia (Satgas BLBI), the task force under Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s supervision to recover funds from some businessmen related to 1997-1998 financial crisis announced new summon today. The summon was related to the debt of Bank Pelita Istismarat (or often spelled as Bank Pelita Istimarat). Meanwhile, the pressure for the Satgas to maximize its performance continues to grow.

Trial of corporate suspects in the corruption case involving State-owned insurance company PT Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero) had ended. All companies have been found guilty and several parties decided to appeal. Unfortunately, the case, which started as a large-scale...

The devastating 2019 forest fires still leave many problems. We know that the incident occurred simultaneously in several provinces in Indonesia’s western and central regions. In Kalimantan, fires occur almost evenly in oil-palm-producing areas, including South Kalimantan. Some of the companies and individuals accused were prosecuted after the fires were extinguished. The process continues to this day. In 2022, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry had filed a lawsuit against one of the companies allegedly responsible for the forest fires in South Kalimantan, PT Agri Bumi Sentosa (PT ABS), a subsidiary of PT Jaya Agra Wattie Tbk (JAWA). Nearly a year later, earlier this year, the Ministry won the case. But the euphoria didn’t last long. Recently, the Panel of Appeal at the Jakarta High Court decided to overturn the previous decision. PT ABS won their case.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) revealed a confusing and prolonged dispute within KSP Intidana last year. The case was uncovered after a Sting Operation where the KPK named a Supreme Court Justice, Justice Sudrajad Dimyati, as one of the suspects. Earlier this year, the KPK confirmed that they had named another Supreme Court Justice, Justice Gazalba Saleh, as a suspect in a different case, making him the second Justice to be named a graft suspect. We finally found the missing link we have been looking for since the case was made known. This week, the trial of Justice Gazalba Saleh started.

The Government ramped up its efforts to demand payment on obligations of the infamous Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) to the obligors in 2021 with its first target being the Texmaco group. The Government initially staged the seizure of nearly 600 assets belonging to the conglomerate which forced Marimutu Sinivasan, who has been absent from the public for more than two decades, to appear and defend himself. Sinivasan filed a lawsuit, however, the court decided that the lawsuit cannot be accepted towards the end of last year. Recently, we learned that Sinivasan’s attempt to appeal failed. The Government is quickly trying to solve all the problems that are left behind.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) continues the investigation into the case of alleged corruption within PT Waskita Karya Tbk (WSKT). The case especially attracts attention because the investigation was conducted alongside the investigation into the company’s subsidiary, PT Waskita Beton Precast Tbk (WSBP). Towards the end of 2022, the AGO announced that they had named one Waskita Karya executive as a suspect, then a week later, the AGO announced three new suspects in the case and one suspect on allegation of obstruction of justice. Recently, the AGO announced that they have named President Director of Waskita Karya, Destiawan Soewardjono, as a new suspect in the case. What a mess.

PT Gorby Putra Utama (PT GPU), subsidiary of PT Atlas Resources Tbk (ARII) is unlikely to be free of problems any time soon. After going through several years full of lawsuits in Jakarta, we recently learned that the company has been in a prolonged dispute with another company that also claims to have rights over the same concession area. The problem is, the company in question is PT Sentosa Kurnia Bahagia (PT SKB), owned by a well-known businessman from South Sumatera, Kemas Haji Abdul Halim bin Haji Ali, who is familiarly known as Haji Halim.