March is a busy month for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Along with widespread allegations of corruption and misappropriation of authority by civil servants, last week the KPK announced that they had named 10 suspects in a case of alleged corruption relating to the provision of remuneration (performance allowance, tunjangan kinerja – tukin) at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (Kementerian ESDM). Besides that, the KPK also developed the investigation into a new allegations of corruption related to the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) and the arrangement of excisable goods managed by the Concession Agency (BP) in the Bintan Free Trade and Free Port Zone (FTZ) (BP Bintan). In the predicate crime, the KPK managed to imprison the disgraced Regent of Bintan, Apri Sujadi, in 2021. Separately, the KPK also announced their investigation in Central Kalimantan and named the Regent of Kapuas, Ben Brahim S Bahat (Golkar) and his wife, Ary Egahni Ben Bahat (NasDem), as suspects.

Pintu Air Mas (PAM) group controlled by the Tjia family has been successful in the property sector with their Jatra hotel chain, although not many people know them. However, this conglomerate run business in various sectors. Away from the media spotlight, the group also has businesses in the nickel mining industry, one of which is through PT PAM Mineral Tbk (NICL). In its operational area in Central Sulawesi, PAM Mineral has been in dispute for a very long time with two companies under the control of the Transon group, namely PT Bumi Morowali Utama (PT BMU) and PT Transon Bumindo Resources (PT TBR). Not long ago, for the umpteenth time, PAM Mineral filed a lawsuit against PT BMU and PT TBR through the West Jakarta District Court, seeking over Rp1.3 trillion in compensation.

We begin 2023 with news that the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has named five suspects in the BAKTI case, the case related to a project at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics. A lot of interesting things emerged in the process of examining witnesses, including the alleged involvement of Minister Johnny Plate’s relatives in the vortex of this crime. Recently, the institution announced that they have imposed a travel ban for two people who run a business in the field of foreign exchange, a business that we know is closely related to the practice of concealing proceeds of crime.

It’s been almost three years since the Ministry of Finance expanded the tax base by collecting Value Added Tax (VAT/PPN) for digital products in trading through the electronic system (PMSE). The number of collectors continues to increase, until this month, there are already 142 companies with the same set of responsibilities. The Government also announced that they have received more than Rp11 trillion tax value in total, an increase of almost Rp1 trillion compared to the report at the end of 2022.

The trial of the suspects involved in the PT Asuransi Sosial Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (Persero) (familiarly known as PT ASABRI) corruption scandal will be over soon. The prosecutors just read their demands for the notorious Bety Halim this week. Separately, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced that it had developed an investigation into the case of corruption in the procurement of social assistance programs at the Ministry of Social Affairs, which ensnared then Minister of Social Affairs, Juliari Peter Batubara, and had named a suspect. The KPK has yet to officially announce the construction of the case but allegations have emerged to the public.

Two weeks ago, 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), it is these other parties that have caught our attention. Let’s see how complicated the dispute between the parties is.

The Satuan Tugas Penanganan Hak Tagih Negara Dana Bantuan Likuiditas Bank Indonesia(Satgas BLBI) announced a new billing summon on March 27, 2023 for five very important parties. This is the fourth summon issued in just under a week. Apart from the parties summoned, we understand the concern of the Satgas, which should be able to complete its duties in December 2023. Unfortunately, actions taken in haste are bound to have disappointing results.

In addition to announcing the billing/collection summons for Trijono Gondokusumo et al, the Satuan Tugas Penanganan Hak Tagih Negara Dana Bantuan Likuiditas Bank Indonesia (Satgas BLBI) also announced two separate third summons for seven parties. Who are the parties summoned?

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, continued to give pressures. Towards the end of last week, the Satgas published three billing/collection announcements, one announcement was made specifically for six parties consisting of familiar names, including Trijono Gondokusumo. As we know, Trijono has started suing the Satgas through the courts since last year and his most recent lawsuit is being examined by the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN Jakarta).

A low profile investment firm, PT HJF Investment Indonesia filed an interesting civil lawsuit recently. The court did not disclose the cause of the lawsuit being filed, but the interesting part of the lawsuit is the parties named as defendants in the case including The Ning King and Xaverius Nursalim.