Ombudsman Forms an Ethics Council to Investigate its Head Hery Susanto who is a Suspect of Corruption

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ombudsman (ORI) has formed an ethics panel to try the non-active Ombudsman Chairman Hery Susanto after being entangled in a nickel corruption case.

Deputy Chairman of the Ombudsman, Rahmadi Indra Tektona, revealed that the ethics panel consisting of five people was formed as a real commitment of the ORI in responding to the existing dynamics and following up on legal cases currently being faced by Hery.

"The institution has officially formed an ethics council that has been determined through the Decision of the Head of the ORI Number 73 of 2026 concerning the Establishment of the Ethics Council in order to investigate the alleged violation of the code of ethics of the Head of the Indonesian Ombudsman for the period 2026-2031 Hery Susanto," said Rahmadi as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, May 8.

He said that the five members of the ethics panel were as many as three from the external, including Prof. Bagir Manan, Prof. Jimly Asshiddiqie, and Prof. Siti Zuhro, and two from the internal ORI, including Maneger Nasution and Partono Samino.

After being formed, the ethics panel will later examine the matter experienced by Hery and decide on the sanctions to be given.

He explained that the decision to form an ethics panel was made in a plenary meeting of the Ombudsman's leadership which was carried out based on the Ombudsman's Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct for Human Rights.

According to him, this step is a manifestation and strong determination of the ORI to continue to uphold the code of ethics and code of conduct for all Ombudsman personnel without exception.

"Our hope is that the presence of national figures who have a high reputation and integrity in this ethics assembly will be a guarantee in the process of implementing ethics that is carried out independently, objectively, and transparently," he said.

Previously, the Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) named the Chairman of the Indonesian Ombudsman for the period 2026-2031, Hery Susanto, as a suspect in the alleged corruption case in nickel mining business management activities in 2013-2025.

Director of Investigation of the Attorney General's Office for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Kejagung Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi said Hery committed this alleged criminal act while serving as the Commissioner of the Indonesian Ombudsman for the period 2021-2026.

"The determination of the suspect was made after the investigation team obtained sufficient evidence through a series of investigative actions, searches, and others," he said at the Kejagung Jampidsus Building, Jakarta, Thursday (16/4).

In this case, Hery allegedly received a bribe of IDR 1.5 billion from the company PT TSHI, which began when PT TSHI had a problem with the calculation of non-tax state revenues (PNBP) by the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut).

Then, PT TSHI sought a way out by colluding with Hery Susanto as the Commissioner of the Indonesian Ombudsman at that time.

To carry out this, he said, Hery received a sum of money from LKM who is the Director of PT TSHI.