Indonesia's Tin Corruption Case Involving State-Owned Enterprise PT Timah Tbk (IDX:TINS): Losses Reach USD 18.5 Billion!

Tins produced by PT Timah Tbk. (Photo: timah.com)

The Attorney General's Office of Indonesia has revealed staggering state losses amounting to IDR 300 trillion, which is equal to USD 18.5 billion (1 USD = IDR 16,200 ) in a suspected corruption case involving the tin trade, based on an audit by Indonesia's National Government Internal Auditor (BPKP).

"Initially, we estimated the losses at IDR 271 trillion, but after BPKP's audit, the figure turned out to be a phenomenal IDR 300.003 trillion," Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin announced at the Attorney General's Office in Jakarta on Wednesday (29/05/2024), citing a report from Antara.

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BPKP Chairman Muhammad Yusuf Ateh formally handed the audit results to Attorney General Burhanuddin. Ateh stated that the investigation into the state's financial losses began following a request from the Attorney General's Office, which prompted a thorough auditing process involving expert testimonies.

"We have submitted the audit results on the state losses in the suspected tin commodity trade corruption case. As mentioned by the Attorney General, the total loss is approximately IDR 300.003 trillion," said Ateh.

The tin trade case, which involves the mining permit area (IUP) of PT Timah Tbk (IDX:TINS), a state-owned public company, from 2015 to 2022, is still under investigation. Besides interrogating witnesses, investigators are seizing assets from suspects to recover state losses.

So far, 66 bank accounts have been frozen, 187 plots of land or buildings have been seized, and a significant amount of cash, 55 heavy machinery units, and 16 vehicles have been confiscated from the suspects. Additionally, six smelters in the Bangka Belitung Islands covering a total area of 238,848 square meters and a gas station in South Tangerang have been seized.

The management of the six smelters will be handed over to the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) to ensure economic value is maintained and social impacts are minimized.

As of Wednesday (29/05/2024), 22 individuals have been named as suspects in this case, including:

1. SW, Head of the Energy and Mineral Resources Department (ESDM) of Bangka Belitung Province (2015-March 2018)
2. BN, Acting Head of ESDM of Bangka Belitung Province (March 2019)
3. AS, Head of ESDM of Bangka Belitung Province
4. Hendry Lie (HL), the beneficial owner of PT Tinido Inter Nusa (TIN)
5. Fandy Lingga (FL), marketing at PT TIN
6. Toni Tamsil (TT), brother of Tamron Tamsil, charged with obstructing the investigation
7. Suwito Gunawan (SG), Commissioner of PT Stanindo Inti Perkasa (SIP)
8. MB Gunawan (MBG), Director of PT SIP
9. Tamron Tamsil (TN), the beneficial owner of CV Venus Inti Perkasa (VIP)
10. Hasan Tjhie (HT), CEO of CV VIP
11. Kwang Yung (BY), former Commissioner of CV VIP
12. Achmad Albani (AA), Operations Manager at CV VIP
13. Robert Indarto (RI), CEO of PT Sariwiguna Bina Sentosa (SBS)
14. Rosalina (RL), General Manager at PT TIN
15. Suparta (SP), CEO of PT Refined Bangka Tin (RBT)
16. Reza Andriansyah (RA), Business Development Director at PT RBT
17. Mochtar Riza Pahlevi Tabrani (MRPT), CEO of PT Timah (2016-2021)
18. Emil Ermindra (EE), Finance Director of PT Timah (2017-2018)
19. Alwin Akbar (ALW), former Operations Director and former Business Development Director at PT Timah
20. Helena Lim (HLN), manager at PT QSE, also known as the 'crazy rich' from Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK)
21. Harvey Moeis (HM), representative of PT RBT and husband of celebrity Sandra Dewi
22. Director General of Mineral and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (2015-2020)