Heavy Sentences Due To Damage To Gold Management At PT Antam

JAKARTA The corruption case at PT Antam continues to drag its officials to the court. The panel of judges at the DKI Jakarta High Court handed down a tougher verdict to the former General Manager (GM) of PT Antam Tbk, Abdul Hadi Aviciena. His prison sentence was increased to 16 years, more than three times the previous verdict, in the corruption scandal of buying and selling precious gold metals Antam.

Chief Judge Artha Theresia stated that this decision was based on strong legal considerations. Abdul Hadi was found guilty of causing state losses of up to Rp92.25 billion due to his negligence in monitoring the opname of gold stocks in various Antam boutiques, especially in the Gold Boutics Metal Mulia (BELM) Surabaya 01 in 2018. The physical lack of gold of 152.8 kilograms is a clear evidence of the bad impact of management management in Antam's body.

In addition to the prison sentence, the fine that Abdul Hadi had to pay was also increased to Rp1 billion, provided that the subsidiary was six months in prison if not paid.

Deep-rooted Corruption Network

The corruption case of PT Antam does not only involve Abdul Hadi. The Attorney General's Office found illegal practices that have been going on since 2010, where Antam officials worked with outsiders to manipulate gold laundering and melt gold stamps without official contracts. This collaboration was carried out with various individuals and private companies, including Lindawati, Suryadi Lukmantara, Suryadi Jonathan, James, Djuju, Ho, and Gluria.

Gold corruption Suspect Antam/DOK Puspenkum AGO

This corruption scheme is carried out without a mature business study, without legal compliance, without a risk test, and without approval from the Board of Directors. There is no due diligence process or know your customer (KYC), so the origin of the gold processed at UBPP Logam Mulia Antam cannot be ascertained. As a result, the state was harmed up to Rp3.31 trillion, while the perpetrators enjoyed billions of rupiah in profits.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) noted that various subsidiaries and affiliate entities of PT Antam experienced an inefficient operating costs of up to Rp. 16.67 billion in the 2019-2021 period. This weak governance is a gap that is used to enrich oneself.

Bad Signal For Antam Governance

Antam gold illustration (Photo: Antara)

"It's okay"

"It's okay"

"It's okay"

"It's okay"

Although noting the impressive business performance with gold sales reaching 34.97 tons in 2022 "equivalent to Rp45.93 trillion", Antam still overshadowed by poor governance problems. BPK found fundamental weaknesses in strategic planning, supervision, and mapping business risks. In fact, big projects such as the East Halmahera Feronicle are considered not managed optimally, increasing the risk of losses to the company.

BPK emphasized the need for a thorough reshuffle in PT Antam's governance to prevent similar cases from happening in the future. One of the main steps recommended is that PT Antam's directors be more proactive in coordinating with MIND ID to ensure transparency and accountability in their business strategy. This step is expected to reduce gaps for corrupt practices that have been going on for years.

In addition, PT Antam needs to immediately draw up an in-depth study to improve its business roadmap. Restructuring or divestment of its subsidiaries must be an option considered for the sake of operational efficiency and optimization. Without concrete steps, the company will only continue to be trapped in a weak governance cycle.

Especially for large projects such as the East Halmahera Feronicel smelter, the BPK emphasizes the importance of clear risk mitigation. This project should not be a long-term financial burden for companies, so it is necessary to design a more efficient and accurate management strategy.

The internal surveillance system must also be improved. PT Antam needs to build a stricter control mechanism so that every business process runs according to the rules and avoids irregularities. Without an effective surveillance system, the gap for corruption remains open and has the potential to pose a threat to the company's business continuity.

Similarly, a BUMN observer from UI, Toto Pranoto, considered that this scandal showed a weakness in the application of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) at PT Antam. How is it possible that this kind of corruption can run for years without being detected? This indicates that there are serious problems in the internal surveillance system," he said.

According to Toto, there needs to be a thorough evaluation, starting from the supervisory system at the operational level to compliance with SOPs in production and sales. He also emphasized the importance of deeper investigations to reveal the extent of internal involvement in this scandal. If left unchecked, cases like this will only continue to repeat itself. There must be firm action so that Antam's governance can be improved structurally and regulatoryly," he said.