Bengkulu Prosecutor's Office Appoints Former Director Of The Ministry Of Energy And Mineral Resources For Mining Suspects

ANTARA/Nadia Putri Rahmani)

JAKARTA - The Bengkulu High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati) has named the former Director of Engineering and Environment at the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Sunindyo Suryo Herdadi (SSH) as a new suspect in the alleged corruption case of production and mining exploration belonging to PT Ratu Samban Mining (RSM).

"Investigators from the Bengkulu Prosecutor's Office have named a suspect with the initials SSH in a case of alleged corruption in a coal mine," said Head of the Legal Information Center (Kapuspenkum) Attorney General Anang Supriatna at the Jampidsus Building at the Attorney General's Office, South Jakarta, Thursday, July 31.

Anang said Sunindyo had also served as Head of Mining Inspector at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources for the April 2022 period, July 2024.

Sunindyo with his position has the authority to evaluate the submission of approval for the 2023 Fiscal Budget Activity Plan (RKAB) proposed by PT RSM for Mining Business Permit (IUP) Number 348 as a condition for production operations.

The results of the evaluation are components to obtain RKAB approval in 2023.

However, from the results of the investigation, it was found that there had been an approval of the 2023 RKAB by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources through the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal. However, the reclamation plan document in it has not yet received approval.

Nevertheless, PT RSM has carried out a production operation in 2022 '2023 without any reclamation guarantees placed in banks to date.

For his actions, SSH was charged with the Corruption Crime Act. Furthermore, he will be temporarily detained at the Salemba Rutan, the AGO Branch.

Anang said the SSH suspect was questioned by Bengkulu Attorney General's Office investigators at the Jampidsus building at the Attorney General's Office, South Jakarta, because he was domiciled in Jakarta.

"(SSH) cooperatively examined in Jakarta," he said.

The Bengkulu Prosecutor's Office has named a former Director of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as a mining suspect.

Previously, the Bengkulu Attorney General's Office named eight suspects in the alleged corruption case of production and mining exploration belonging to PT Ratu Samban Mining and PT Tunas Bara Jaya.

The eight suspects are PT Sucofindo Bengkulu Branch Head Imam Sumantri, Director of PT Ratu Samban Mining Edhie Santosa, Tunas Commissioner Bara Jaya Bebby Hussy, General Manager of PT Inti Bara Perdana Saskya Hussy, President Director of Tunas Bara Jaya Julius Soh, Marketing of PT Inti Bara Perdana Agusman, Director of Tunas Bara Jaya Sutarman, and Commissioner of PT Ratu Samban Mining David Alexander.

Head of the Investigation Section of the Bengkulu Attorney General's Office, Danang Prasetyo, revealed that the mining business permit (IUP) of PT Ratu Samban Mining had been problematic since 2011, while the findings of the fact that coal sales were incorrect were carried out in 2021 to 2022.

"The state's losses in this case reached more than Rp500 billion, more than the total damage caused by the environment and its main causes the untrueities that occurred during coal mining and during coal sales," said Danang.