The Attorney General's Office Names One New Suspect in the Alleged Corruption Case of the MBG Program

JAKARTA - The Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) RI has again appointed a new suspect in the investigation of the alleged corruption case in the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Program management. The suspect is Asep Yusuf Somantri (AYS), who is said to have close ties with the former Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Sony Sonjaya.

Director of Investigation of the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, said the determination of the suspect was made after investigators found evidence of AYS' involvement in a number of activities suspected of violating the law related to the implementation of the MBG program.

"The investigation team has appointed one more suspect on behalf of AYS as a private party," Syarief told the media at the Kejagung Round Building, South Jakarta, Thursday, June 11, 2026.

According to Syarief, AYS was initially asked by Sony Sonjaya to help find partners who would be involved in the implementation of the MBG program. In the process, AYS allegedly gained access to internal information that should not be accessible to outsiders.

"That SS brother against the law gave AYS access to intervene with the MBG partner's verification team so that they could find out about the empty kitchen points," he said.

Investigators suspect that AYS also played a role in regulating the registration process for the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG). A number of prospective partners who had previously passed the selection were said to have had their status canceled, while others were able to continue the process even though the registration period had ended.

"So AYS facilitated the SPPG who just registered when the registration portal was closed. After making arrangements for the SPPG points, AYS's brother illegally gave a certain amount of money to the suspect SS," said Syarief.

For his alleged actions, AYS was charged with Article 12 letters a and b of the Corruption Crime Law and Article 605 paragraph (2) and Article 606 of the Criminal Code. Investigators also detained AYS for the first 20 days at the Salemba Detention House, Branch of the South Jakarta District Attorney's Office.

Previously, the Attorney General's Office had named the former Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana, the former Deputy Head of the BGN Lodewyk Pusung, and Sony Sonjaya as suspects in the same case. The three are suspected of using foundations affiliated with them to become partners of SPPG in the MBG program.

"As a suspect in the investigation of alleged corruption in the management of the Free Nutritious Meal Program at the National Nutrition Agency from 2025 to 2026," said Syarief.

During the investigation, the Attorney General's Office found indications that the foundations obtained benefits in the form of incentives worth billions of rupiah every day. In addition, investigators also investigated the alleged interference of the suspects in a number of procurement projects for goods and services in the BGN environment.

The projects of concern to investigators include the procurement of 21,801 units of electric motorcycles worth around Rp1 trillion, 32,000 pairs of shoes, tens of thousands of units of tablets, and 5,400 units of 75-inch televisions.

In this case, the suspects were charged with Article 603 and Article 604 of the New Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 20 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption Crimes.