IAW Says 12 Locations Searched by Tipidkor Court Early in Corruption Prosecution   

JAKARTA - The search at 12 locations carried out by the National Police's Corruption Eradication Task Force (Kortastipidkor) together with the Metro Jaya Police in the investigation of alleged corruption in a number of strategic SOEs is an important stage to build the construction of the case.

But, this forced effort should not be interpreted as determining the fault of certain parties.

This was conveyed by the Founding Secretary of Indonesian Audit Watch (IAW), Iskandar Sitorus, in response to the raids carried out at cafes and houses in the Sentul area, West Java this week.

According to him, this activity is the development of three large clusters of suspected corruption and money laundering (TPPU) cases in the coal supply case for PLTU/PLN, alleged irregularities in handling the ASABRI-Jiwasraya case, to the settlement of debts in the Krakatau Steel environment.

"The series of searches carried out by the National Police's Corruption and Crime Investigation Agency together with the Metro Jaya Police on July 8, 2026 should not be read narrowly as an event of raiding cafes, restaurants, money changers, or private homes only. The event is more accurately read as a continuation of the major investigation into three clusters of alleged criminal acts of corruption and money laundering crimes that overlap with strategic SOEs," said Iskandar in his statement, Friday, July 10.

Iskandar reminded that the search does not mean that the party whose business location is being inspected has committed a crime.

"The search is not a verdict. The search is an investigative action to search for, find, and secure evidence. Therefore, the names of people, businesses, or legal entities that appear in the news cannot be treated as guilty parties before there is a process of proof according to the criminal procedure law and a court decision with the force of law. "

Iskandar explained that of the three clusters being developed, the case of alleged corruption in the supply of coal for the PLTU was the most obvious because it had risen to the investigation stage. Alleged irregularities include manipulation of coal quality, quantity of supply, to contract payments.

However, he reminded that the potential loss of the state of around Rp5 trillion circulating at present is still indicative and has not become a final value.

"In this coal case, the figure of Rp5 trillion circulating must be placed precisely as an indication or potential loss of the state or the country's economy, not a final figure. The National Police is said to still be coordinating with the BPK for calculating state losses and with PPATK for tracing the flow of funds," he said.

Meanwhile, in the cluster of alleged irregularities in handling the ASABRI-Jiwasraya case, Iskandar assessed that the focus of investigators was no longer on the investment case that had been processed previously, but on the alleged irregularities in the process of handling the case by state officials.

As for the Krakatau Steel debt settlement cluster, he reminded investigators to be able to distinguish between business issues and corruption crimes.

"Without proof of intervention in positions, funds, or illegitimate profits, corporate cases like this can be easily disputed," he said.

Furthermore, Iskandar explained that the search at cafes, restaurants, money changers, houses, and company offices was part of the strategy of following the evidence, following the money, and asset tracing that is commonly used in investigating corruption and TPPU cases.

"These locations are more appropriately read as a node of proof as a place suspected of storing documents, money, transaction records, electronic devices, CCTV recordings, bookkeeping records, or evidence of relationships between actors," he said.

Therefore, Iskandar asked the public not to make the location of the search as a basis for judging individuals or businesses that are being investigated.

According to Iskandar, the professionalism of investigators will be tested by their ability to compile a complete chain of evidence, starting from the initial report, investigation, examination of witnesses, search, seizure, audit of state losses, PPATK analysis, to the determination of suspects.

On the other hand, if all stages are successfully strung together systematically, the search at dozens of locations can be a gateway to uncovering a wider network of state-owned corruption, including alleged money laundering practices and parties who enjoy the fruits of crime.

"The state must not lose to corruption that hides behind contracts, cases, debts, safes, foreign exchange, or business entities. But the state must also not be careless. In a state of law, the courage to uncover corruption must go hand in hand with the accuracy of proof. That is the only way for corruption eradication not to turn into a momentary commotion, but rather a strong, fair, and unbreakable legal process," concluded Iskandar.