Corruption in Telkom and Lawsuit against Erick Thohir
On March 6, 2023, the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), Erick Thohir, visited the Attorney General’s Office (AGP) to report a number of cases of alleged corruption in a number of State-owned companies, including the case that allegedly occurred at PT Graha Telkom Sigma (PT GTS, subsidiary of PT Sigma Cipta Caraka – Sigma). Examination of witnesses was sped up immediately after the report was received. Interestingly, a few days later, the Central Jakarta District Court registered a lawsuit filed against Erick Thohir and several other parties, the plaintiff was one of the witnesses examined by the AGO and was also a former Sigma executive. What is going on?
Development on Corruption in Waskita Karya
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 developed an investigation into a new case.
BAKTI Kominfo Scandal & NasDem Party (2)
Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has on Monday (March 13) examined seven more witnesses in the corruption case at BAKTI Kominfo, an agency under ministry of communications and informatics, which dragged so many telecommunication companies, and might drag more politicians.
Re-managing the Sultan Hotel and State Properties: Sutowo Family v The State
Back in 2020, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) submitted the result of its audit into the management of State property over the 2017 and 2018 period. The BPK found that State assets could not provide maximum income due to weak control. The Ministry of State Secretariat coordinated with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to regulate and recover the State property under its care. Among the State property in question, there is one infamous dispute between the Government and PT Indobuildco, the company who manages the Sultan Hotel & Residence, formerly known as the Hilton Hotel complex. This year, after years of legal battle, the Government finally decided to end the permit previously given to Indobuildco and take over the management of the once prestigious hotel.
Pertamina Negligent and the Stubborn Inhabitants
The Pertamina depot in Plumpang, North Jakarta, experienced a severe fire on Friday, March 3, 2023 evening. The location of the depot which is surrounded by densely populated settlements, even in the buffer zone, makes everything even more complicated and 19 residents are reported to have died. However, the problem is not only fires that result in death. This is not the first time a similar incident has happened to Pertamina’s assets. Apart from that, why are there densely populated settlements in the buffer zone? The history of land disputes around the area is clearly in favor of Pertamina, it is the illegal residents who must be relocated. Unfortunately, on March 7, 2023, Pertamina and the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) decided to give in. The Pertamina depot will be moved to another location within the next two years. This solution, in our opinion, will not solve the problem. Parties who deliberately defy the existing regulations must be held accountable.
Revisiting Problems in Alhasanie
PT Alhasanie, a mining company and subsidiary of PT Atlas Resources Tbk (ARII), is still having legal problems with one of the company’s contractors PT Macmahon Mining Services (subsidiary of Macmahon Holdings Limited – ASX: MAH—partly owned by Salim-Medco’s Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara). Back in 2018, Macmahon filed two lawsuits on Suspension of Debts Payments (PKPU), demanding Alhasanie to restructure its debts, and apparently the parties also tried to resolve the dispute in Singapore. Recently, Alhasanie filed a new lawsuit against Macmahon.
The Ultra Vires Decision
The Central Jakarta District Court, once again, made a controversial decision. Towards the end of last week, the Panel of Judges granted the civil lawsuit registered by the Partai Rakyat Adil Makmur (Just Prosperous People’s Party – Prima). The decision ordered the General Elections Commission (KPU) not to carry out the remaining stages of the upcoming 2024 general election and to repeat the preparation stages from the beginning. This decision quickly raised objections because it would clearly result in a delay in the General Election preparation process and thus be unconstitutional. Why would a Panel of Judges in one of the most important courts in this country make such a reckless decision?
BAKTI Kominfo Scandal & NasDem Party
Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has on Wednesday (March 1) examined eight witnesses in the corruption case at BAKTI Kominfo, an agency under ministry of communications and informatics, which dragged so many telecommunication companies.
On the Geostationary Orbit Scandal : The Trial
The trial on the case of alleged violations in satellite management cooperation at the Ministry of Defense started this week. The case supposedly cost the State around Rp800 billion, but the indictment now mentioned that the case caused State losses amounted to Rp450 billion.
Revisiting PT PAL Case
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) uncovered the case of bribery involving the board of directors of a State-owned enterprise PT Penataran Angkatan Laut Indonesia (Persero) (PT PAL Indonesia) back in 2017. The KPK named at least five suspects but one suspect managed to escape before the KPK made their official announcement. With the KPK’s success in capturing several fugitives in the past two years, the demand for the KPK to arrest all fugitives has intensified.