Forest Conservation Permit, Kejaksaan Konawe Utara's Former Regent Investigated

JAKARTA - The Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) has examined the former Regent of North Konawe, Aswad Sulaiman, regarding the alleged corruption case for mining permits in North Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra). The examination was carried out some time ago as part of the ongoing investigation.

Director of Investigation of the Attorney General's Office for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, confirmed the examination of Aswad. He said the examination was carried out in Kendari. "It has been, in Kendari," said Syarief at the Kejagung building, Jakarta, Wednesday, January 14.

However, Syarief did not specify the details of the examination. He only confirmed that Aswad was the regent of North Konawe in the 2013 period.

Head of the Legal Information Center (Kapuspenkum) of the Attorney General's Office, Anang Supriatna, also confirmed the examination. According to him, Aswad has been questioned once in October 2025.

The Attorney General's Office is currently handling a case of alleged corruption in mining permits in North Konawe which has risen to the investigation stage. The handling of the case is carried out by the Jampidsus Kejagung investigation team.

"The Gedung Bundar team has conducted an investigation into the alleged mining problem in North Konawe," said Anang, late December 2025.

Anang explained that the investigation had been underway for several months. The Attorney General's Office is investigating alleged irregularities in the issuance of mining permits that enter protected forest areas.

"It is suspected that there is an allocation of permits to a number of companies to open mines that enter protected forest areas, involving cooperation with related agencies," he said.

The period of alleged corruption in mining permits investigated by the Attorney General's Office covers the period from 2013 to 2025. A number of witnesses have been examined in this case.

For information, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) previously handled allegations of mining corruption in North Konawe. However, the handling of the case was stopped for technical considerations. The Attorney General's Office admitted that it did not know the details of the termination of the investigation by the KPK.