The Troubled Gunung Bara Utama
The Jiwasraya scandal had imprisoned so many parties including Heru Hidayat of PT Trada Alam Minera Tbk (TRAM) and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) reportedly commenced another confiscation of assets several months ago. We thought everything went smoothly because we haven’t heard of anything since then, near the end of 2022, two lawsuits were registered against the AGO confiscation decision, one of which was registered by the troubled PT Gunung Bara Utama (PT GBU), a subsidiary of TRAM. The examination of said lawsuit is ongoing, but TRAM and PT GBU including their affiliated companies continue to face problems since then.
PKPU for Waskita Karya
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) continues the investigation into the case of alleged corruption within PT Waskita Karya (Persero) 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). Suspects have been named but the problem is not over. Entering 2023, a PKPU lawsuit was filed against Waskita Karya over debts dispute amounted to a little over Rp2 billion. Why did this big company neglect to carry out a very trivial obligation to end up having to spend time in court?
Latest on Kospin Indosurya Case
The legal dispute surrounding the Koperasi Simpan Pinjam (Kospin) Indosurya Cipta is becoming even more confusing. The Kospin was previously declared bankrupt when its management stood trial on allegations of fraud. The prosecutors also appeared to be on the side of the victims by asking the court to confiscate a number of assets as a means of recovery. However, what happened next complicated the situation. The bankruptcy decision was canceled by the Supreme Court and the prosecutors’ request was rejected by the court. Now anything is possible. This week, Henry Surya read out his defense plea asking the Panel of Judges to acquit him. The chronology of events is confusing so please bear with us.
BAKTI Corruption Case: Sinarmas?
Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has seized three cars owned by Galumbang Menak, owner of Moratelindo (MORA), who is suspect in the corruption case at BAKTI Kominfo, an agency managing Universal Services Obligation (USO) of telecommunication sector at ministry of communications and informatics.
Tjokrosaputro v. Tjokrosaputro
The notorious Benny Tjokrosaputro, who was convicted in the corruption case involving PT Asuransi Jiwasraya, is still waiting for the decision in the case involving ASABRI, although whatever the decision is, Benny will spend the rest of his life in prison. But prison is not the only problem for Benny, because his relationship with his brothers fell apart because of his crime. The South Jakarta District Court recently registered a default lawsuit filed by Dicky Tjokrosaputro, Benny’s brother. Last year, Dicky and his wife also filed a different lawsuit against Benny. While the other brother, Teddy Tjokrosaputro, was also found guilty in the ASABRI scandal.
KPPU New Investigation: Denso and Sanden
On Jan. 10, 2023 the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) held an online hearing in the initial Preliminary Examination stage over the alleged conspiracy related to the provision of Air Conditioning Systems (AC) for cars and their component units to car manufacturers. The reported parties in this case are Denso Corporation and Sanden Holdings Corporation.
Bakrie Group v. Bernd Hogel
Last week an interesting lawsuit was filed to the Central Jakarta District Court. Two Bakrie Group issuers, PT Bakrieland Development Tbk (ELTY) and its subsidiary, PT Surya Global Nusantara (PT SGN) filed a lawsuit against a person named Bernd Hogel. What happened?
Corruption Journal
The prosecution stage in the case of alleged corruption in the Pemalang regency is nearing its end. The Pemalang Regent, Mukti Agung Wibowo, has just faced trial, but the bribers in this case have been facing indictment for some time. This week, the defendants were found guilty by the Panel of Judges. Separately, the former Regent of Tanah Bumbu, Mardani Maming, who is former treasurer of Nahdlatul Ulama (the largest Moslem organization in Indonesia) and now standing trial as graft defendant, listened to the prosecutors demands this week.
On the Tax Corruption Scandal
We began 2021 with a corruption case drama involving tax officials. The allegation was scandalous. Officials had allegedly transacted and helped three large companies avoid their tax obligations. One of said companies was owned by the notorious Haji Isam, who was once nominated as treasurer of the Jokowi-Ma’ruf campaign in the 2019 election, a business partner of the Bakrie Group in the coal industry. The key suspect in the case was found guilty and the tax consultants of one of the companies were found guilty. In November 2022, a trial of two remaining consultants of two other companies finally started. We are waiting for surprises at the trials, hoping that the KPK will state the alleged involvement of companies in these cases, but one can only hope. The trial proceeded normally and far from media coverage. The prosecutors’ demands that were read recently were far from satisfactory.
On Corruption in Papua
Governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe (Demokrat), is a powerful figure on the island. He is serving his second period as Governor relatively far from media coverage. However, the little coverage does not mean Lukas is clean. In September 2022, we learned that the Directorate General of Immigration had imposed a travel ban on Lukas, based on a request from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The KPK has not announced anything, but for some, the travel ban and the widespread alleged crime related to Lukas is long overdue. The KPK confirmed that they had named Lukas as a suspect, but we had to wait until the end of last week to find out the details of the case that finally ensnared Lukas. Apart from Lukas, two regional leaders on the island of Papua also have to face the KPK, one of whom is still at large.